Armadillos , the most popular mammals in Texas, can spread leprosy to humans , according to a new study by Swiss microbiologists published in The New England Journal of Medicine . Leprosy, a disease also known as Hansen's disease after the Norwegian researcher who discovered it in 1873, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae , and is especially prevalent in Asia and Africa. It is cured with antibiotics, but if left untreated it can damage the skin and mucosa of the respiratory tract, cause blindness and cause nerve damage that paralyzes the hands and feet.
The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus ) is the only animal that manifests the symptoms of leprosy in a similar way to humans. Genetic studies by Pushpendra Singh and her colleagues on the leprosy-causing strains of 33 armadillos in the southern United States revealed that they were genetically very similar to those of about 30 Louisiana leprosy patients. To avoid contagion, it is enough to not hunt or eat these animals, say the experts, who assure that in most cases of leprosy detected in the United States there was some direct contact with armadillos before.
