01905nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653002500054653001100079653001200090653001400102653001000116653001700126653001100143100001500154700001500169700002300184700001300207700001600220700001400236700001400250700001200264245012000276856009100396300000800487490000700495520107500502022001401577       2023                            d  c01/202310aMycobacterium leprae10aCattle10aleprosy10areservoir10aticks10aTransmission10aVector1 aKrausser L1 aChauvaux E1 aVan Dyck-Lippens M1 aYssouf A1 aAssoumani Y1 aTortosa P1 ade Jong B1 aBraet S00aTicks are unlikely to play a role in leprosy transmission in the Comoros (East Africa) as they do not harbour  DNA.  uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1238914/pdf?isPublishedV2=False  a1-50 v103 a<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Leprosy, one of the oldest known human diseases, continues to pose a global challenge for disease control due to an incomplete understanding of its transmission pathways. Ticks have been proposed as a potential contributor in leprosy transmission due to their importance as vectors for other infectious diseases.</p>

<p><strong>Methods: </strong>In 2010, a sampling of ticks residing on cattle was conducted on the islands Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli which constitute the Union of the Comoros where leprosy remains endemic. To investigate the potential role of ticks as a vector in transmission of leprosy disease, molecular analyses were conducted.</p>

<p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of the 526 ticks analysed, none were found to harbour DNA, as determined by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay targeting a family of dispersed repeats (RLEP) specific to .</p>

<p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Therefore, our results suggest that in the Union of the Comoros, ticks are an unlikely vector for .</p>
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