A social network approach for the study of leprosy transmission beyond the household

Kendall, Bernard Carl; Kerr, Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo; Miranda, José Garcia Vivas; Pinho, Suani Tavares Rubim de; Andrade, Roberto Fernandes Silva; Rodrigues, Laura Cunha; Frota, Cristiane Cunha; Mota, Rosa Maria Salani; Almeida, Rosa Lívia Freitas de; Moreira, Fabio Brito; Bührer, Samira

A social network approach for the study of leprosy transmission beyond the household

Data

2022

Autores

Kendall, Bernard Carl

Kerr, Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo

Miranda, José Garcia Vivas

Pinho, Suani Tavares Rubim de

Andrade, Roberto Fernandes Silva

Rodrigues, Laura Cunha

Frota, Cristiane Cunha

Mota, Rosa Maria Salani

Almeida, Rosa Lívia Freitas de

Moreira, Fabio Brito

Resumo

Background Mycobacterium leprae was the first microorganism directly associated with a disease, however, there are still important gaps in our understanding of transmission. Although household contacts are prioritized, there is evidence of the importance of extrahousehold contacts. The goal of this article is to contribute to our understanding of the transmission of leprosy ex-household. Methods We compare co-location data of 397 leprosy cases and 211 controls drawn from the Centro de Dermatologia Sanitária D. Libânia in Fortaleza, Brazil. We collected lifetime geolocation data related to residence, school attendance and workplace and developed novel methods to establish a critical distance (Rc) for exposure and evaluated the potential for transmission for residence, school and workplace. Results Our methods provide different threshold values of distance for residence, school and workplace. Residence networks demonstrate an Rc of about 500 m. Cases cluster in workplaces as well. Schools do not cluster cases. Conclusions Our novel network approach offers a promising opportunity to explore leprosy transmission. Our networks confirm the importance of coresidence, provide a boundary and suggest a role for transmission in workplaces. Schools, on the other hand, do not demonstrate a clustering of cases. Our findings may have programmatic relevance.

Palavras-chave

Brazil, Mycobacterium leprae, Schools, Social networking, Workplace

Citação

KENDALL, Carl et al. A social network approach for the study of leprosy transmission beyond the household. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Oxford, v. 116, n. 2, p. 100-107, 2021. DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/trab071. Disponível em: https://academic.oup.com/trstmh/article/116/2/100/6279383?login=true. Acesso em: 11 abr. 2025.