The loveable panoplied creature that is the armadillo carries with it Hansen’s disease , a disease mark by humankind throughout history . Can human race really contract Hansen’s disease from a these storage tank - like wonders of nature ?
Leprosy Under Their shell
Not all armadillo actively carry Mycobacterium leprae , the bacterium leading to the ancient affliction of Hansen’s disease . Only the nine - band armadillo , a species common in the southeastern United States , is known to act as a carrier .
Leprosy is an uncommon disease in North America that brings with it anancientstigma of scriptural proportions . The ability for an armadillo to bear Hansen’s disease is not all bad , as it provides scientists with a easy to handle horde being for studies of the disease .
Although leprosy can lead to permanent damage of the member , most cases are easily halted with innovative music , thus lay aside the afflicted from an lengthened stay at a leper colony .
But why would armadillo conduct Hansen’s disease ? That ’s a darn good motion .
Low Body Temperature and Bacteria
It is hypothesized that this metal money of armadillo is able to carry Mycobacterium leprae due to their miserable consistency temperature . The animal ’s internal body temperature hovers around90 ° F . M. leprae is particularly hard to turn in testing ground conditions , which often duplicate room temperature or human consistency temperature .
This medium temperature — not too hot , not too cold — present within armadillos allow for M. leprae to thrive , but exactly how an armadillo becomes expose to the bacterium is unknown . Armadillo to armadillo photo is an obvious road for modern bacterial contagion amongst the animal , but at some level the bacteria likely crossed species .
Shuffling Down the Interstate
As a denizen of the southeastern United States , see at rest armadillo along the road is a coarse mass that accompanies any out of nation route trip . consistence of the creatures litter the gutters of the interstate , and , it appears that a very , very small number of citizens of the Southeastern United States bet to the nine - band armadillo as a toy and a food source .
A connection between Hansen’s disease and human contact armadillos has been paint a picture fordecades , but only in the retiring two years has extended enquiry been carried out to look for a transmission joining .
A2011retrospective study appear at 25 infected humans subsist within in the United States . All 25 carry Hansen’s disease deduct from Mycobacterium leprae . Of the 25 individuals,15handled armadillos regularly or consumed armadillo material body . I ’m not sure where armadillos lie on the food for thought Great Pyramid , but I would advise you to shuffle the creatures toward the bottom .
Do Armadillos Spread Leprosy to world ?
Although nine - banded armadillos freely stray the Southeastern United States can carry leprosy , they are not the critical choke coil item for the spread of Mycobacterium leprae .
The consuming legal age of human causa are come from liaison with human attack aircraft carrier while traveling to parts of the domain where human are routinely infected with Hansen’s disease .
Of the approximately 150 human cases that rise in the United States each year , nearly 80 % of these cases halt from human to human transmission during travelling overseas .
But do n’t worry — if you are an armadillo aficionado showing the tell - tale peel lesions of Hansen’s disease , you will not be taken off from your family and institutionalise to a leper colony . If discovered early , a full course of antibiotic drug can plow most cases and forego cheek legal injury and physical disability , with extra medication given to controlinflammation .
The World Health Organization presently provides multidrug therapy forfreeto all individuals smite with leprosy in land where soul to person transmission is an issue . It is likely that by the end of the 21st Century , the nine - band armadillo will the last carrier of this ancient bane on the planet .
Top image via Tambako the Jaguar / Flickr . Additonal image viaChris Caldwell / Flickr , Diane Turner / Flickr , andalh1 / Flickr .
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