{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T22:01:55Z","timestamp":1791237715883,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Wildlife Disease Association","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Journal of Wildlife Diseases"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The Mexican long-nosed nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus mexicanus) has continued to expand its range since it was first documented in Texas, US, in the mid-1800s. It dispersed north and east and was found in Missouri, USA, starting in the 1980s. This species is known to contract leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Infected armadillos are considered to be a zoonotic source of leprosy in the US. A recent case (2021) of leprosy in a native Missourian who had a history of contacts with armadillos appears to have been locally acquired. However, no data were available on the presence or prevalence of leprosy in wild armadillos from Missouri. We sampled various tissues from 64 armadillos, 39 road killed and 25 hunter killed\/ culled, from southwestern and central Missouri in summer 2022 to determine the local prevalence of M. leprae. Two animals were PCR positive for M. leprae, providing evidence that this pathogen is moving northward along with the range expansion of Mexican long-nosed armadillos.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.7589\/jwd-d-25-00050","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T14:19:16Z","timestamp":1763475556000},"page":"1090-1095","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Leprosy in Missouri, USA: Are Armadillos (Dasypus mexicanus) Carrying the Causative Agent Mycobacterium leprae?"],"prefix":"10.7589","volume":"61","author":[{"given":"Lynn W.","family":"Robbins","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Solutions & Innovations, Inc., 3725 E. Foxgrape Rd., Springfield, Missouri 65809, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jonathan A.","family":"Dyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Child Health, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65212, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gillian A.","family":"Warner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Solutions & Innovations, Inc., 2960 W. Highpoint St., Springfield, Missouri 65810, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Barbara M.","family":"Stryjewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Systems Bureau, National Hansen's Disease Program, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria T.","family":"Pena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Systems Bureau, National Hansen's Disease Program, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ramanuj","family":"Lahiri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Systems Bureau, National Hansen's Disease Program, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"4415","reference":[{"key":"2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G Balamayooran, M Pena, R Sharma, et al.  \"Clin Dermatol.\"  33, \"The armadillo as an animal model and reservoir host for Mycobacterium leprae.\" 108 (2015)","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clindermatol.2014.07.001"},{"key":"3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M Barthe, L Rancilhac, MC Arteaga, et al.  \"Syst Biol.\"  74, \"Exon capture museomics deciphers the nine-banded armadillo species complex and identifies a new species endemic to the Guiana Shield.\" 177 (2024)","DOI":"10.1093\/sysbio\/syae027"},{"key":"4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"N Cardona-Castro, JC Beltr\u00e1n, A Ortiz-Bernal, et al.  \"Lepr Rev.\"  80, \"Detection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA in nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) from the Andean region of Colombia.\" 424 (2009)","DOI":"10.47276\/lr.80.4.424"},{"key":"5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"J da Silva Ferreira, FM de Carvalho, MC Vidal Pessolani, et al.  \"Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis.\"  68, \"Serological and molecular detection of infection with Mycobacterium leprae in Brazilian six banded armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus).\" 101397 (2020)","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cimid.2019.101397"},{"key":"6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"B DeGregorio  and A Deshwal  \"Diversity.\"  17, \"Current distribution of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the United States.\" 138 (2025)","DOI":"10.3390\/d17020138"},{"key":"7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"P Deps, JMA de Paula Antunes, SM Collin,  \"Zoonoses Public Health.\"  68, \"Zoonotic risk of Hansen's disease from community contact with wild armadillos: A systematic review and meta-analysis.\" 153 (2021)","DOI":"10.1111\/zph.12783"},{"key":"8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"MS Duthie, RW Truman, W Goto, et al.  \"Clin Vaccine Immunol.\"  18, \"Insight toward early diagnosis of leprosy through analysis of the developing antibody responses of Mycobacterium lepraeinfected armadillos.\" 254 (2011)","DOI":"10.1128\/CVI.00420-10"},{"key":"9","unstructured":"A Gilmore, J Roller, JA Dyer,  \"Mo Med.\"  120, \"Leprosy (Hansen's disease): An update and review.\" 39 (2023)"},{"key":"11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"KJ Hockings, B Mubemba, C Avanzi, et al.  \"Nature.\"  598, \"Leprosy in wild chimpanzees.\" 652 (2021)","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-03968-4"},{"key":"13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"MR Larreur, JJ Remmers, EM Audia, et al.  \"J Mammal.\"  106, \"Drivers of nine-banded armadillo occupancy and expansion near the edge of their northern range.\" 658 (2025)","DOI":"10.1093\/jmammal\/gyae158"},{"key":"14","unstructured":"WJ Loughry  and CM McDonough  \"The nine-banded armadillo: A natural history.\"  344 (2013)"},{"key":"16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"A Meredith, J Del Pozo, S Smith, et al.  \"Vet Rec.\"  175, \"Leprosy in red squirrels in Scotland.\" 285 (2014)","DOI":"10.1136\/vr.g5680"},{"key":"18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M Monot, N Honor\u00e9, T Garnier, et al.  \"Science.\"  308, \"On the origin of leprosy.\" 1040 (2005)","DOI":"10.1126\/science\/1109759"},{"key":"19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"P Patel, C Rojas-Moreno, T Nelson, et al.  \"Open Forum Infect Dis.\"  8, \"Autochthonous leprosy in Missouri.\" S782 (2021)","DOI":"10.1093\/ofid\/ofab466.1586"},{"key":"20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"T Ploemacher, WR Faber, H Menke, et al.  \"PLoS Negl Trop Dis.\"  14, \"Reservoirs and transmission routes of leprosy; 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Truman,  \"The biology of the Xenarthra.\"  \"Leprosy.\" 111 (2008)"}],"container-title":["Journal of Wildlife Diseases"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T21:47:56Z","timestamp":1791236876000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bioone.org\/journals\/journal-of-wildlife-diseases\/volume-61\/issue-4\/JWD-D-25-00050\/Leprosy-in-Missouri-USA--Are-Armadillos-Dasypus-mexicanus-Carrying\/10.7589\/JWD-D-25-00050.full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7589\/jwd-d-25-00050","relation":{},"ISSN":["0090-3558","1943-3700"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0090-3558","type":"print"},{"value":"1943-3700","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]}}}