Mycobacterium leprae Infection in a Wild Nine-Banded Armadillo, Nuevo León, Mexico

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 747 - 749
• Main Authors: Vera-Cabrera, Lucio, Ramos-Cavazos, Cesar J., Youssef, Nathan A., Pearce, Camron M., Molina-Torres, Carmen A., Avalos-Ramirez, Ramiro, Gagneux, Sebastien, Ocampo-Candiani, Jorge, Gonzalez-Juarrero, Mercedes, Mayorga-Rodriguez, Jorge A., Mayorga-Garibaldi, Leonardo, Spencer, John S., Jackson, Mary, Avanzi, Charlotte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.03.2022; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Animals; Animals as carriers of disease; Armadillos; Armadillos - microbiology; Causes of; Dasypus novemcinctus; Disease Reservoirs - microbiology; Distribution; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Genotype & phenotype; Grants; Health aspects; Identification and classification; Infection in a Wild Nine-Banded Armadillo, Nuevo León, Mexico; Laboratories; Leprosy; Leprosy - diagnosis; Leprosy - epidemiology; Leprosy - veterinary; Mexico - epidemiology; Mycobacterium leprae; Mycobacterium leprae - genetics; nine-banded armadillo; Nuevo León; Research Letter; Risk factors; whole-genome sequencing; Zoonoses; Mexico; Brazil; United States > US; Colorado; Texas; leprosy; Mycobacterium leprae; Nuevo León; whole-genome sequencing; tuberculosis and other mycobacteria; Mexico; zoonoses; nine-banded armadillo; Dasypus novemcinctus; Hansen disease
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2803.211295

Nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) are naturally infected with Mycobacterium leprae and are implicated in the zoonotic transmission of leprosy in the United States. In Mexico, the existence of such a reservoir remains to be characterized. We describe a wild armadillo infected by M. leprae in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico.