Probable Zoonotic Leprosy in the Southern United States

Mycobacterium leprae strains from armadillos and from patients in Louisiana with no foreign exposure were found to be highly similar genetically and different from strains found elsewhere in the world. These data suggest that the armadillo may be a source of leprosy in the United States. Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae . 1 , 2 Though often considered a disease of antiquity, it is found most commonly today in tropical and semitropical regions, and a total of 249,007 new cases were reported globally in 2008. 3 Genomic polymorphisms have allowed us to trace the historical spread of leprosy around the world, as human populations migrated. 4 The disease was not present in the New World before Columbus discovered the American continents but rather appears to have been introduced here from Europe and Africa during colonization. Early case reports suggest that leprosy was already . . .