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All the tests came back negative, meaning despite their growing numbers in Illinois, there still need to be more armadillos to render leprosy a concern like it is in states such as Florida and Texas.
(The leprosy bacterium is difficult to culture and armadillos have a body temperature of 34 °C (93 °F), similar to human skin.) [26] Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat. [27] [28] Armadillos are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
Nine-banded armadillos can carry leprosy, which can be transmitted to people, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife. Contact with armadillos should be kept to a minimum.
In the southern United States, some armadillos are naturally infected with the bacteria that causes leprosy. It may be possible that they can spread it to people, according to the Centers for ...
Infected armadillos make up a large reservoir of M. leprae and may be a source of infection for some humans in the United States or other locations in the armadillos' home range. In armadillo leprosy, lesions do not persist at the site of entry in animals; M. leprae multiply in macrophages at the site of inoculation and lymph nodes. [189]
Mycobacterium leprae DNA was detected in soil from houses of leprosy patients in Bangladesh, armadillos' holes in Suriname and habitats of lepromatous red squirrels in the British Isles. [36] One study found numerous reports of leprosy cases with a history of contact with armadillos in the United States. [34]
How do armadillos factor in? A nine-banded armadillo. There is some evidence that these armadillos may carry the bacteria that can lead to leprosy. But it is difficult to transmit and most people ...
Nine-banded armadillos in the Southeastern United States can also carry the bacteria, and gene studies have linked human infections to the leprosy strains carried by armadillos, although it’s ...