Anticuerpos séricos antiglicolípido fenólico 1 en personal de centros de salud en contacto con pacientes con enfermedad de Hansen

Although leprosy is a disease with a wide range of clinical manifestations, there is a lack of knowledge about the presence of carriers of Mycobacterium leprae (M leprae), as well as its transmission and the immunological phenomena that cause the onset of the illness. The glycolipid phenolic-1 antigen (PGL-1) is a M. leprae specific virulence factor, that protects the bacteria against attack by macrophages. Anti PGL-1 antibodies were detected in health center workers (physicians and paramedics) in close contact with leprosy patients to assess their degree of exposition to the bacilli and to determine their usefulness as a risk factor for developing clinical leprosy. Blood samples from 52 leprosy patients contacts and 60 healthy individuals without leprosy patients contact (control group) were collected. The presence of IgM anti-PGL-1 antibodies was determined using the ELISA technique. It was found that 42.3% (22) of the contacts and 5.0% (3) of the healthy individuals without leprosy patient contact were positive for anti PGL-1 antibodies (p