Armadillos in leprosy study

These are nine-banded armadillos Dasypus novemcinctus seen here in laboratory conditions. The armadillo is susceptible to infection with Mycobacterium leprae because of its low body temperature. Such animals yield huge numbers of bacilli that can be used for metabolic and immunological studies, particularly in the search for a vaccine against leprosy. Naturally-acquired leprosy is known to occur in the wild armadillo population, which potentially makes control and eradication of the disease more difficult.