01345nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653001500067653000800082653001400090653001200104653002500116653000900141653001100150653002400161653001400185100001200199700001500211700001400226700001700240245008600257300001100343490000800354520067900362022001401041       1986                            d  c1986 Nov10aAnimals10aArmadillos10aEar10aGranuloma10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aNose10aPlants10aWounds, Penetrating10aXenarthra1 aJob C K1 aHarris E B1 aAllen J L1 aHastings R C00aThorns in armadillo ears and noses and their role in the transmission of leprosy.  a1025-80 v1103 a<p>Both ears from 494 wild nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) and nose specimens from 224 animals were collected and histopathologically studied. Lepromatous granulomas were present in the ear specimens of ten of 494 animals. There were thorns in the ears of 22.5% of animals, and in 36.6% of the nose specimens. In one armadillo, there was evidence to suggest that Mycobacterium leprae entered the tissue through the thorn pricks. In the normal habitat of the armadillo in Louisiana there are thorny bushes consisting mostly of the green briar and the southern dewberry. Thorn pricks as a means of transmission of leprosy in the wild armadillos is suggested.</p>  a0003-9985