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Nasal carriage of Mycobacterium leprae DNA in healthy individuals in Lega Robi village, Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2003

D. BEYENE ,
A. ASEFFA ,
M. HARBOE ,
D. KIDANE ,
M. MACDONALD ,
P. R. KLATSER ,
G. A. BJUNE  and
W. C. S. SMITH
D. BEYENE
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
A. ASEFFA
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
M. HARBOE
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Institute of Immunology, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
D. KIDANE
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
M. MACDONALD
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University of London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
P. R. KLATSER
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Research, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
G. A. BJUNE
Affiliation:
Institute for General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
W. C. S. SMITH
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
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Abstract

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The number of registered leprosy patients world-wide has decreased dramatically after extensive application of WHO recommended Multiple Drug Therapy (MDT). The annual number of new cases has, however, been almost unchanged in several populations, indicating that the infection is still present at community level. Nasal carriage of Mycobacterium leprae DNA was studied in Lega Robi village in Ethiopia. MDT had been applied for more than ten years, and 718 residents over 5 years old were eligible for the study. During the first survey nasal swab samples were collected from 664 (92·5%) individuals. The results of a Peptide Nucleic Acid-ELISA test for M. leprae DNA interpreted by stringent statistical criteria were available for 589 (88·7%) subjects. Thirty-five (5·9%) individuals without clinical signs of leprosy were positive for M. leprae DNA. Seven PCR positive individuals lived in a household where one or two other members were also positive for M. leprae DNA. During a second survey 8 (4·6%) of 175 interpretable PNA-ELISA tests were positive. Of 137 individuals tested twice, only two were positive on both occasions whereas 10 were PCR positive only once. The study confirms the widespread distribution of M. leprae DNA in healthy individuals. The feasibility of curbing possible transmission of subclinical infection needs further consideration.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 131 , Issue 2 , October 2003 , pp. 841 - 848
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press