Mycobacterium leprae is an acid fast Gram-positive bacterium, with a slow doubling time of 14 days. The slow doubling time is due to the restricted intake of nutrients through the pores in the large waxy walls. Mycobacteria, as genus, are typically found in the soil, water and in the air.Leprosy is very specified when it comes to infecting hosts. Its ideal conditions are around 33 degrees C, which is lower than most mammals. Mammals with lower temperatures are better hosts for leprosy. That is why only a few species are known to be carriers of M. leprae. This is also why in humans, leprosy tends to be found primarily at the peripheral nerves. Hands and feet tend to be cooler than the core body temp
erature, providing a more habitable environment for M. leprae.
Mycobacterium leprae is an acid fast Gram-positive bacterium, with a slow doubling time of 14 days. The slow doubling time is due to the restricted intake of nutrients through the pores in the large waxy walls. Mycobacteria, as genus, are typically found in the soil, water and in the air.Leprosy is very specified when it comes to infecting hosts. Its ideal conditions are around 33 degrees C, which is lower than most mammals. Mammals with lower temperatures are better hosts for leprosy. That is why only a few species are known to be carriers of M. leprae. This is also why in humans, leprosy tends to be found primarily at the peripheral nerves. Hands and feet tend to be cooler than the core body temperature, providing a more habitable environment for M. leprae.
http://www.ksat.com/video/27710534/index.html
The idea of people eating armadillos is quite disgusting, and Mrs. Jeff said that was a way to catch it. My mom lived in Texas for 17 years and she knew a lot of people that ate armadillos but she did not know anyone that had leprosy. I did see a documentary about disease such as leprosy on discovey channel once and it was a sad but eye opening segment. There were a ton of children in this village that had made contact with the organism and some of them acquired while others thankfully for them did not, but if I remember correctly it was from eating a certain animal but I think it was one of the monkeys Mrs. Jeff talked about.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Hunt
I have always thought armadillos were disgusting looking. Now when I see their carcasses on the side of the rode I find myself a little more thankful. I just always assumed that they were a reservoir for organisms simply because they are burrowers and low to the ground. I was surprised to learn that it was due to lower temperatures. The picture of that poor persons hand breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteI found an article on CNN's website describing a case of an 81 year old woman that contracted leprosy indirectly from the soil in her garden where armadillo's had been burrowing. According to the same article approximately 150 case of leprosy are reported in the U.S. each year! This seems really high. The following is a link to the article I found.
ReplyDeleteCassie Marotta http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/27/armadillos.spreading.leprosy/index.html
Okay...I'm gonna say this and it's not completely on the subject but here it is. I am a country girl, therefore hunting and eating what is killed is not unusual to me. I will admit I have eaten my fair share of deer and rabbit even some alligator but that is where I draw the line. I have never eaten armadillo or squirrel cause they were just a little too out there for me and this study confirms that my suspicions were true. I still think I'm going to have a hard time convincing my stepfather not to eat the armadillo even if it does carry leprosy.
ReplyDeleteI have to completely agree with Stefanie Brown on this one. She took the words out of my mouth. I was raised on eating wildlife including whitetail deer, elk, quail, duck, alligator,and much more. I have never and will never eat any armadillo. They are just weird looking anyway. They creep me out. I can't understand people eating them. I called my husband right after we had this lecture and told him that if he ever shot an armadillo to just leave it laying for the birds and cyotes. He didn't understand but I told him just don't they will make you sick lol. Very interesting information.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting information! This reminds me of a story I heard from my 3rd grade teacher. One of her friends and her friend's whole family went camping and found a dead armadillo. Her friend makes cute jewelry for a living and saw that the armadillo shell or skin was pretty. So she took the skin or shell off of the dead armadillo and made cute little necklaces and bracelets for her whole family to wear. They wore the jewelry and a few months later the whole family died. They must of died of leprosy or some other disease that's related to the armadillo from what I heard from my teacher. So the lesson here is don't make jewelry out of armadillos and don't touch any dead animals either.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering earlier in the semester why it was so hard to culture Mycobacteria sp. After reading your article some of the reasons for why Mycobacteria sp. are not easily culture make more sense. The Mycobacteria sp.’s waxy walls cause them to be more resistant to phagocytosis and similar method of destruction but at the same time these waxy walls slow the time of nutrient intake and cell division significantly. The waxy walls make these organisms more pathogenic and harder to detect. This is one evil bug!
ReplyDeleteHaha, It is too funny to me that people could have the desire to go up to an armadillo and touch or mess with it. I think the worst of what I have heard is that you can acquire leprosy from soil these little critter burrow in. I can understand someone stupid messing with an armadillo getting leprosy but that 81 year old lady doing her gardening is sad. I have a soft spot in my heart for little rodents, which I am sure seems weird, but even I have common sense to leave them alone. I wonder if they suffer any nerve damage from the bacteria as humans do?
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting blog. I know when I was in high school guys were obsessed with messing with armadillos (dead or alive). I think back on that and I wonder how they never ended up with this. I think it is very neat that this is mostly common in mammals with lower temperatures.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very helpful summary of Mycobacterium leprae. I was especially interested in the fact that it grows better at 33°C, which leads to the damage being mainly in the hands and feet, which is a characteristic of leprosy. I enjoyed seeing the video discussing the armadillo problem that we discussed in class. The ones shown were much smaller than I usually picture them!
ReplyDeleteDiana Wilson
Next time we have a potluck lunch remind me not to eat any meat that Jess or Stef bring. Ha!Ha!
ReplyDelete