TY - JOUR KW - Animal Diseases KW - Animals KW - Armadillos KW - Female KW - leprosy KW - Lymph Nodes KW - Male KW - Mass Screening KW - Mycobacterium KW - Mycobacterium leprae KW - Texas KW - Xenarthra AU - Smith J H AU - Folse D S AU - Long E G AU - Christie J D AU - Crouse D T AU - Tewes M E AU - Gatson A M AU - Ehrhardt R L AU - File S K AU - Kelly M T AB -

A significant prevalence of leprosy has been demonstrated in wild Louisiana armadillos. The Texas Gulf Coast still has endemic human leprosy, and recent mores in Texas have markedly increased armadillo-human contact. Armadillos were screened by physical examination, and by ear-snip and slit-scrape technique. Animals that screened "positive" were sacrificed and necropsied under aseptic conditions. Liver, spleen, gross lesions, and four groups of lymph nodes were cultured for mycobacteria and were studied histologically. Base ratios and DNA homology with Mycobacterium leprae were determined on mycobacteria from two armadillos (and two tissues from one of these); these studies indicate that the organism found in Texas armadillos is M leprae. Twenty-one of the armadillos were leprous--4.66%. The local prevalence varied from 1.0% to 15.4%. Epidemiologic implications of these findings and the occurrence of other concomitant mycobacterial infections are discussed.

BT - Journal of the Reticuloendothelial Society C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6350581?dopt=Abstract DA - 1983 Aug IS - 2 J2 - J Reticuloendothel Soc LA - eng N2 -

A significant prevalence of leprosy has been demonstrated in wild Louisiana armadillos. The Texas Gulf Coast still has endemic human leprosy, and recent mores in Texas have markedly increased armadillo-human contact. Armadillos were screened by physical examination, and by ear-snip and slit-scrape technique. Animals that screened "positive" were sacrificed and necropsied under aseptic conditions. Liver, spleen, gross lesions, and four groups of lymph nodes were cultured for mycobacteria and were studied histologically. Base ratios and DNA homology with Mycobacterium leprae were determined on mycobacteria from two armadillos (and two tissues from one of these); these studies indicate that the organism found in Texas armadillos is M leprae. Twenty-one of the armadillos were leprous--4.66%. The local prevalence varied from 1.0% to 15.4%. Epidemiologic implications of these findings and the occurrence of other concomitant mycobacterial infections are discussed.

PY - 1983 SP - 75 EP - 88 T2 - Journal of the Reticuloendothelial Society TI - Leprosy in wild armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) of the Texas Gulf Coast: epidemiology and mycobacteriology. VL - 34 SN - 0033-6890 ER -