Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
How humans can contract leprosy from armadillos. ... Destitute Texans turned to them for a source of meat during the Great Depression, calling them “Hoover Hogs” or “poor man’s pork ...
(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.
High rates of Mycobacterium leprae infection were observed in armadillos in the Brazilian state of Pará, and individuals who frequently consumed armadillo meat showed a significantly higher titres of the M. leprae-specific antigen, phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) compared with those who did not or ate them less frequently. [38] [34]
A 54-year-old man in central Florida was diagnosed with lepromatous leprosy in 2022.
Frank Cerabino's column offers advice to avoid eating armadillos as a way to blunt the spread of leprosy in Florida
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]
Some nine-banded armadillos in the southern United States, including in Florida, are also naturally infected with the bacteria that causes leprosy. The CDC say it’s possible that contact with ...
The armadillo model has been useful for biochemical, immunological, and vaccine research. Though the majority of nine-banded armadillos contract leprosy, about 15% of the species have been found to be resistant. The resistant specimens are used as a study model in order to develop a possible genetic linkage. [6] [9] [18]