Detection of Mycobacterium leprae in saliva and the evaluation of oral sensitivity in patients with leprosy

• Autor(a) principal: Rosa,Fernanda Borowsky da
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Souza,Victor Costa de, Almeida,Tatiana Amaral Pires de, Nascimento,Valdinete Alves do, Vásquez,Felicien Gonçalves, Cunha,Maria da Graça Souza, Naveca,Felipe Gomes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
• Texto Completo: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762013000500572
• topic: leprosy; sensation disorders; oral cavity; real-time polymerase chain reaction

The aim of this study was to investigate sensitivity disorders in the oral cavity related to the presence of Mycobacterium leprae in the saliva of treatment-naïve patients with leprosy in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 45 subjects with leprosy. The subjects were interviewed to evaluate the sensitivity of the oral cavity. For the detection of M. leprae, saliva and slit-skin smear samples were collected. The samples were analysed using a bacteriological index (BI) protocol and the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results indicated that 15 of the 45 (33.3%) subjects with leprosy showed decreased oral sensitivity, which confirmed the importance of the oral cavity sensitivity evaluation. There was not a direct relationship between the presence of M. leprae in saliva and changes in oral sensitivity. Positive saliva qPCR results from six (31.6%) of 19 paucibacillary (PB) patients suggested the possibility of a new site for sample collection. Positive results using these diagnostic techniques (BI, slit-skin smear and saliva qPCR) increased to 55.5%, thus opening the possibility of combining these different techniques to increase the rate of positive diagnoses, especially in PB patients.