A latest study had showed that a strain of leprosy found in humans in the southern U.S. was identical to a strain commonly found in a 9-banded armadillo found in the area. DNA tests show a match in the leprosy strain between some patients and these prehistoric-looking critters - a connection scientists had suspected but until now couldn't pin down. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and also suggest that various species of armadillo all around the world could also be a source of leprosy. Armadillos are commonly found in the southern states of U.S.A, specifically in dry open desserts in Texas and Arizona and Louisiana.
Leprosy is a rare and mysterious disease. Among the symptoms of leprosy include slow-growing skin lesions. The condition also affects the eyes, peripheral nerves and upper respiratory system of the body. Leprosy experts have known for a long time that armadillos are capable of carrying the disease, and there have been studies that random cases of leprosy in the United States often occur in the southern states where armadillos are common.
Researchers in the study believe that the leprosy bacterium grows in armadillos, and not with any other animal, because armadillos have low body temperatures, around 32 degrees C or 89 degrees F. The findings discouraged people from repeated exposure from armadillos as well as discouraged cooking and eating their meat
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