WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD April 27, 2011 -- They
may be built like tanks, but armadillos’ natural armor doesn’t
protect them from leprosy. Now a new study shows that some
armadillos and people with leprosy in the southern United States
are infected with the same bacterial strain. That suggests that
the disease, which causes skin lesions and eventual nerve
damage, can pass between species, although that circumstance
appears to be rare. The discovery has offered scientists a new
way to think about how leprosy may persist in the environment.
And it helps to explain how some people contract the disease,
especially if they’ve never traveled outside the U. S. “It’s an
excellent scientific publication,” says William R. Levis, MD, a
specialist in treating leprosy, which is also called Hansen’s
disease, and clinical assistant professor at NYU’s Langone
Medical Center in New York City. Levis says that although the
science is sound, he fears the study will misdirect attention in
a disease that’s already mis