An uptick of confirmed leprosy cases in Florida is resparking the debate of the disease's possible connection to nine-banded armadillos, USA Today reported Oct. 3.
In August, the CDC said leprosy, or Hansen's disease, could be becoming endemic in the Southeast — where armadillos often reside.
Other than humans, nine-banded armadillos are the only mammals that have been found to carry the bacteria behind the infectious disease, Mycobacterium leprae.
"A high percentage of unrelated leprosy cases in the southern United States were found to carry the same unique strain of M. leprae as nine-banded armadillos in [Central Florida], suggesting a strong likelihood of zoonotic transmission," the CDC said in its August report.
Finding evidence, instead of a "strong likelihood," of an animal-to-human transmission is difficult because more than 95 percent of people are naturally immune to leprosy, experts told USA Today.
Armadillos are "going to get scapegoated for this leprosy [outbreak] but I don't think they're playing much of a role," wildlife biologist Brett DeGregorio, PhD, told the outlet.
The jury is still out as infectious disease and zoonotic experts discuss the meager research into leprosy transmission.