02549nas a2200361   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653000800054653001500062653003100077653001200108653002400120653001200144653001800156653001700174100001100191700001600202700001600218700001100234700002800245700001600273700001500289700001300304700001200317700001500329700001200344245017600356856008300532300000900615490000700624520154200631022001402173       2024                            d  c07/202410aDNA10atratamento10aMycobacterium lepromatosis10aUCP-LFA10aanti-PGL-I antibody10aleprosy10areal-time PCR10ared squirrel1 aZhou Z1 avan Hooij A1 aWassenaar G1 aSeed E1 aVerhard-Seymonsbergen E1 aCorstjens P1 aMeredith A1 aWilson L1 aMilne E1 aBeckmann K1 aGeluk A00aMolecular and Serological Surveillance for Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis in Wild Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) from Scotland and Northern England.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11240566/pdf/animals-14-02005.pdf  a1-150 v143 a<p>Leprosy is a poverty-associated infectious disease in humans caused by or , often resulting in skin and peripheral nerve damage, which remains a significant public health concern in isolated areas of low- and middle-income countries. Previous studies reported leprosy in red squirrels in the British Isles, despite the fact that autochthonous human cases have been absent for centuries in this region. To investigate the extent of and presence in wild red squirrels in the northern UK, we analyzed 220 blood/body cavity fluid samples from opportunistically sampled red squirrels (2004-2023) for specific antibodies against phenolic glycolipid-I, a cell wall component specific for these leprosy bacilli. Additionally, we assessed bacillus-derived DNA by real-time PCR (qPCR) in 250 pinnae from the same cohort. and DNA were detected by qPCR in 20.4% and 0.8% of the squirrels, respectively. No cases of co-detection were observed. Detectable levels of anti-PGL-I antibodies by UCP-LFA were observed in 52.9% of animals with the presence of determined by qPCR, and overall in 15.5% of all animals. In total, 22.6% ( = 296) of this UK cohort had at least some exposure to leprosy bacilli. Our study shows that leprosy bacilli persist in red squirrels in the northern UK, emphasizing the necessity for ongoing molecular and serological monitoring to study leprosy ecology in red squirrels, gain insight into potential zoonotic transmission, and to determine whether the disease has a conservation impact on this endangered species.</p>
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