Posted on 09/03/2005 9:02:55 AM PDT by yankeedame
Fact of the Day
Yes, Virginia, armadillos can contract leprosy
Armadillos don't always lose body parts due to being victims of hit-and-run "roadkill" accidents ...
Armadillos are the only mammals (other than humans) that can contract lepromatous leprosy, the most virulent form of the disease. In fact, the medical community believes that some day armadillos will help to cure leprosy.
The bacteria tends to grow in cooler parts of the body (nose, feet, ears), and the low body temperature of the 'dillo proved an ideal breeding ground and resulted in a quick spread of the disease after the animal was inoculated.
Scientific studies, of course, can't work without a "control group", and the armadillo was also quick to comply with this requirement — their litters almost always contain a set of identical quadruplets, giving researchers four sets of identical genes to work with. Thanks to the studies done thus far, a vaccine against leprosy has been developed.
The disease has been found in wild armadillos as well, but transmission to humans is rare; it's usually spread by eating undercooked armadillo meat, which is a good reason to leave that roadkill right where it lies.
Who eats 3 day old road kill? No, no. You have to sneak up on a dillo, grab it's tail, bash the head on a rock, skin and clean it, and fry up the meat. Yum!
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