Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, Program in Environmental Science, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave., Dept. 2653, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403, USA.
Department of Biology, Valdosta State University, 1500 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, Georgia 31698, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2024 Jul 1;60(3):758-762. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-23-00163.
The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is currently considered an invasive species in parts of its range in the USA, and this range continues to expand to the north and east. Nine-banded armadillos are one of a handful of mammals known to contract leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease); range expansion thus leads to public health concerns about whether this might increase human exposure to infected animals. We collected blood samples from 61 road-killed armadillos over two summers (2021 and 2022) in Tennessee, a US state near the northern extreme of the species' current range, and screened them for exposure to Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy. All animals were seronegative, providing no evidence that range expansion is increasing the distribution of leprosy in the US.
九带犰狳（Dasypus novemcinctus）目前被认为是美国部分地区的入侵物种，其分布范围还在继续向北和向东扩展。九带犰狳是少数已知会感染麻风病（也称为汉森病）的哺乳动物之一；因此，分布范围的扩大引发了公众对这是否会增加人类接触受感染动物的担忧。我们在两个夏季（2021 年和 2022 年）从田纳西州收集了 61 只道路死亡的犰狳的血液样本，田纳西州是美国位于该物种目前分布范围最北部的一个州，并对它们进行了麻风分枝杆菌（麻风病的病原体）暴露筛查。所有动物均呈血清阴性，这表明分布范围的扩大并没有增加美国麻风病的分布。
