Armadillo meat consumption and Hansen’s disease (leprosy): a case–control study in Brazil

Taynah A R Repsold; Simon M Collin; Bianca B C Amorim; Liana M M de Sena; Roger Bongestab; Patrícia D Deps

doi:10.1093/trstmh/trag054

Armadillo meat consumption and Hansen’s disease (leprosy): a case–control study in Brazil

Taynah A R Repsold, Simon M Collin, Bianca B C Amorim, Liana M M de Sena, Roger Bongestab, Patrícia D Deps^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Abstract

Background
Hansen’s disease (HD, leprosy) had a global incidence of approximately 200 000 new cases per annum over the last decade. Armadillos are recognized reservoirs of Mycobacterium leprae in the Americas and HD is considered a zoonosis in the USA. Our aim was to evaluate the association between armadillo meat consumption and HD in Brazil.

Methods
We conducted a case–control study (n=59 patients with HD, n=59 controls) in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, between February and December 2025. Data collected included clinical and sociodemographic, armadillo meat consumption and known (human) case contacts (KCCs).

Results
Armadillo meat consumption was much more frequent among cases (59.3%) than controls (8.5%). Consumption was the strongest independent predictor of HD, with 15-fold higher odds of exposure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 16.5 [95% confidence interval {CI} 5.2 to 52.5], p<0.001) among cases. Odds of KCCs were five-fold higher among cases (aOR 6.0 [95% CI 2.2 to 16.8], p=0.001).

Conclusions
This study provides evidence that armadillo meat consumption is an independent transmission pathway for human M. leprae infection in Brazil. Zoonotic transmission likely accounts for some of the HD ‘contact gap’ in this setting, supporting the need for a paradigm shift towards One Health surveillance of HD in the Americas.

Original language	English
Article number	trag054
Journal	Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Early online date	8 May 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trag054
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 8 May 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026.

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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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@article{b08a4966f59143e2aa42286632c09a6a,

title = "Armadillo meat consumption and Hansen{\textquoteright}s disease (leprosy): a case–control study in Brazil",

abstract = "Background Hansen{\textquoteright}s disease (HD, leprosy) had a global incidence of approximately 200 000 new cases per annum over the last decade. Armadillos are recognized reservoirs of Mycobacterium leprae in the Americas and HD is considered a zoonosis in the USA. Our aim was to evaluate the association between armadillo meat consumption and HD in Brazil. Methods We conducted a case–control study (n=59 patients with HD, n=59 controls) in the state of Esp{\'i}rito Santo, Brazil, between February and December 2025. Data collected included clinical and sociodemographic, armadillo meat consumption and known (human) case contacts (KCCs). Results Armadillo meat consumption was much more frequent among cases (59.3\%) than controls (8.5\%). Consumption was the strongest independent predictor of HD, with 15-fold higher odds of exposure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 16.5 [95\% confidence interval \{CI\} 5.2 to 52.5], p<0.001) among cases. Odds of KCCs were five-fold higher among cases (aOR 6.0 [95\% CI 2.2 to 16.8], p=0.001). Conclusions This study provides evidence that armadillo meat consumption is an independent transmission pathway for human M. leprae infection in Brazil. Zoonotic transmission likely accounts for some of the HD {\textquoteleft}contact gap{\textquoteright} in this setting, supporting the need for a paradigm shift towards One Health surveillance of HD in the Americas.",

author = "Repsold, \{Taynah A R\} and Collin, \{Simon M\} and Amorim, \{Bianca B C\} and \{de Sena\}, \{Liana M M\} and Roger Bongestab and Deps, \{Patr{\'i}cia D\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026. ",

year = "2026",

month = may,

day = "8",

doi = "10.1093/trstmh/trag054",

language = "English",

journal = "Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene",

issn = "0035-9203",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Armadillo meat consumption and Hansen’s disease (leprosy)

T2 - a case–control study in Brazil

AU - Repsold, Taynah A R

AU - Collin, Simon M

AU - Amorim, Bianca B C

AU - de Sena, Liana M M

AU - Bongestab, Roger

AU - Deps, Patrícia D

PY - 2026/5/8

Y1 - 2026/5/8

N2 - Background Hansen’s disease (HD, leprosy) had a global incidence of approximately 200 000 new cases per annum over the last decade. Armadillos are recognized reservoirs of Mycobacterium leprae in the Americas and HD is considered a zoonosis in the USA. Our aim was to evaluate the association between armadillo meat consumption and HD in Brazil. Methods We conducted a case–control study (n=59 patients with HD, n=59 controls) in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, between February and December 2025. Data collected included clinical and sociodemographic, armadillo meat consumption and known (human) case contacts (KCCs). Results Armadillo meat consumption was much more frequent among cases (59.3%) than controls (8.5%). Consumption was the strongest independent predictor of HD, with 15-fold higher odds of exposure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 16.5 [95% confidence interval {CI} 5.2 to 52.5], p<0.001) among cases. Odds of KCCs were five-fold higher among cases (aOR 6.0 [95% CI 2.2 to 16.8], p=0.001). Conclusions This study provides evidence that armadillo meat consumption is an independent transmission pathway for human M. leprae infection in Brazil. Zoonotic transmission likely accounts for some of the HD ‘contact gap’ in this setting, supporting the need for a paradigm shift towards One Health surveillance of HD in the Americas.

AB - Background Hansen’s disease (HD, leprosy) had a global incidence of approximately 200 000 new cases per annum over the last decade. Armadillos are recognized reservoirs of Mycobacterium leprae in the Americas and HD is considered a zoonosis in the USA. Our aim was to evaluate the association between armadillo meat consumption and HD in Brazil. Methods We conducted a case–control study (n=59 patients with HD, n=59 controls) in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, between February and December 2025. Data collected included clinical and sociodemographic, armadillo meat consumption and known (human) case contacts (KCCs). Results Armadillo meat consumption was much more frequent among cases (59.3%) than controls (8.5%). Consumption was the strongest independent predictor of HD, with 15-fold higher odds of exposure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 16.5 [95% confidence interval {CI} 5.2 to 52.5], p<0.001) among cases. Odds of KCCs were five-fold higher among cases (aOR 6.0 [95% CI 2.2 to 16.8], p=0.001). Conclusions This study provides evidence that armadillo meat consumption is an independent transmission pathway for human M. leprae infection in Brazil. Zoonotic transmission likely accounts for some of the HD ‘contact gap’ in this setting, supporting the need for a paradigm shift towards One Health surveillance of HD in the Americas.

U2 - 10.1093/trstmh/trag054

DO - 10.1093/trstmh/trag054

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

C2 - 42099291

SN - 0035-9203

JO - Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

JF - Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

M1 - trag054

ER -

Armadillo meat consumption and Hansen’s disease (leprosy): a case–control study in Brazil

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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