Apart from humans, armadillos are the only known natural hosts of Mycobacterium leprae. They are well developed as hosts for in vivo propagation of M leprae and are advancing as models for studying the pathogenesis of leprosy and translational research. Armadillos are immunologically intact. They exhibit the full Ridley-Jopling spectrum of histopathologic responses to M leprae and uniquely manifest extensive neurological involvement that closely recapitulates human leprosy. In addition, free-ranging armadillos in some regions are known to harbor a naturally occurring infection with M leprae, and zoonotic transmission between armadillos and humans has been implicated in a large number of new case presentations. We review the role of the armadillo as a model for leprosy and reservoir for human infection.
BT - Clinics in Dermatology C1 -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25432816
CN - BALAMAYOORAN2015 DO - 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2014.07.001 IS - 1 J2 - Clin Dermatol LA - eng N2 -Apart from humans, armadillos are the only known natural hosts of Mycobacterium leprae. They are well developed as hosts for in vivo propagation of M leprae and are advancing as models for studying the pathogenesis of leprosy and translational research. Armadillos are immunologically intact. They exhibit the full Ridley-Jopling spectrum of histopathologic responses to M leprae and uniquely manifest extensive neurological involvement that closely recapitulates human leprosy. In addition, free-ranging armadillos in some regions are known to harbor a naturally occurring infection with M leprae, and zoonotic transmission between armadillos and humans has been implicated in a large number of new case presentations. We review the role of the armadillo as a model for leprosy and reservoir for human infection.
PY - 2015 SP - 108 EP - 115 T2 - Clinics in Dermatology TI - The armadillo as an animal model and reservoir host for Mycobacterium leprae VL - 33 SN - 0738081X ER -