Armadillos. Don't kiss em.

[[SS]Midnight]

Armadillos linked to leprosy in humans

Each year only about 150 people in the U.S. are infected with leprosy, a bacterial disease that can lead to nerve damage and disfigurement. In most cases, people are infected after being exposed to saliva from an infected person, usually while traveling to parts of the world, such as Africa and Asia, where the disease is more prevalent.

until now, experts haven't been able to confirm that armadillos could pass the disease to humans. The study provides the strongest evidence to date. Researchers analyzed the genomes of leprosy-causing bacteria collected from seven patients and one armadillo.

After identifying specific strains of the bacteria, they compared them with a larger group of infected people and armadillos from around the world.

Of the 50 patients and 33 wild armadillos the researchers analyzed from the U.S., 25 patients and 28 armadillos shared a genetically identical strain of leprosy bacteria. And at least 8 of the 25 patients carrying the strain reported contact with armadillos.

...he adds, the chance that the humans with the armadillo-specific strain were infected by some other means is about 1 in 10,000.