Prevalence of anti-PGL-I antibodies in samples from healthy individuals in a non-endemic area for leprosy

• Grant number: 24/16686-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Vânia Nieto Brito de Souza
• Grantee: Cael Ostrovski Sauberlich
• Host Institution: Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima (ILSL). Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças (CCD). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Leprosy remains a major public health problem in Brazil, with nearly 20,000 cases diagnosed annually, despite intensive control and treatment efforts in recent decades. Therefore, this research project aims to investigate the prevalence of seropositivity for anti-PGL-I antibodies in healthy individuals from a non-endemic region of leprosy, specifically the municipalities of Bauru and Jaú, in the State of São Paulo. The study aims to detect the presence of anti-PGL-I antibodies in blood samples and to correlate these results with clinical signs and symptoms of the disease using the Leprosy Suspicion Questionnaire. 300 participants will be enrolled, 200 from the municipality of Bauru and 100 from the municipality of Jau, recruited during a health campaign in Bauru and among blood donors at the Bauru and Jaú. Individuals with positive anti-PGL-I serology will undergo dermato-neurological evaluation by a physician experienced in leprosy, as well as additional tests to investigate leprosy, if necessary. At the end of the study, we hope to determine the prevalence of seropositivity and its correlation with the occurrence of leprosy, thus contributing to early diagnosis and interrupting the disease's transmission chain.