Armadillos Source of Leprosy in the South
After a mysterious outbreak of leprosy began a few years ago, researchers began looking for a cause. In a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists discovered that the armadillo is one of the few animals that carries the bacteria that causes leprosy.
Every year, there are a few cases of leprosy in southern states, where armadillos are as common as squirrels in urban areas. Just being around the odd-looking creatures is not enough to acquire the bacteria but those who hunt the animals, handle their raw meat or eat them could be at higher risk for getting leprosy.
Leprosy experts have known for years that the armadillos carry the leprosy bacteria. In fact, scientists use them to grow the bacteria, which can’t be cultured in the laboratory.
Richard Truman of the National Hansen’s Disease Program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana led the new study. He used DNA testing to show that a strain of Mycobacterium leprae not found anywhere else in the world was present in 28 out of 33 wild armadillos and 25 out of 39 U.S. patients who lived in areas where the animals lived.
Dr.Truman told Reuters, “Around the world, we think of human beings as the only reservoir of Mycobacterium leprae and that leprosy is a human disease.” But now it appears that armadillos are giving the disease back to humans after first receiving it from people coming to the New World from Europe and Africa hundreds of years ago.
Researchers think the reason the leprosy bacteria grow in armadillos, but not most other animals, is due to the armadillos’ lower body temperature of 89 degrees Fahrenheit.
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