Yes, an Armadillo Can Give You Leprosy

Posted by timothy on Thursday April 28, 2011 @07:42AM from the wear-a-saddle-every-time dept.

sciencehabit writes "For years, scientists have speculated that armadillos can pass on leprosy to humans, and that they are behind the few dozen cases of the disease that occur in the US every year. Now, they have evidence. A genetic study published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that US armadillos and human patients share what seems to be a unique strain of the bacterium that causes leprosy. If an armadillo's blood 'got on my tires of my car from running [the animal] over, I would wash it down,' advises one expert. 'And I would not dig in soil that has a lot of armadillo excrement.'"

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Re:Leprosy can be cured. by tomhudson · 2011-04-28 09:33 · Score: 3, Interesting

everyone else could pretty much walk hand in hand with a leper and never catch a thing.

... one good sneeze and they can catch all sorts of flying body parts ...
Seriously, "only" 10% are at risk? 10% is HUGE!
And on the not-so-serious side ...
Q. Why do lepers make such lousy poker players?
A. They have to quit after they've thrown in their hands.
Q. What's small and green and sheds it's skin?
A. A leper-chaun.
Q. What do you call 10 lepers in a hot tub?
A. Oatmeal.
Thank you, thank you ... try the fish.