Leprosy is a disease that has been feared by many people. Today it is still so, even if it has largely been controlled. Leprosy affects animals as well, as is the case of leprosy bacteria found in red squirrels in Britain and Ireland.
Leprosy is largely known to a disease in humans. Much has been written about it. It social implications on victims can be great, to the point of being ostracized by society. Because of medical advances leprosy has been controlled through antibiotics among humans.
That is not the case though with many animals in the wild. Cases of leprosy has been found in animals. An example of this is the case of armadillos contracting leprosy. Another group of animals that are infected with it is the red squirrel from Britain, Scotland and Ireland.
Two labs have tested about 110 red squirrels, according to Phys Org. Stewart Cole of EPFL and Anna Meredith from the University of Edinburgh conducted the tests on the red squirrels. Some of the squirrels didn't have the leprosy bacteria, but most were found to be infected.
One group of red squirrels from Brownsea Island, just off the coast of southern England, is infected by the M. leprae strain. Another group coming from Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Wight are infected by the M. lepromatosis strain. The two leprosy strains have come from a common one some 27,000 years ago.
Meredith said that continued research and study on the leprosy cases among red squirrels is essential in order to manage the disease among them. The red squirrels are considered as an endangered species and there are conservation efforts for them. Cole said that the presence of leprosy among the red squirrels shows that a disease can still exist in the environment even though it has been controlled among humans.
There is no danger of leprosy that humans can be infected, said Kenrad Nelson, a Professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is not involved in the study. Though the animals can transmit the disease to humans, contact between red squirrels and humans is low, as Live Science noted.
Lead study author Charlotte Avanzi said leprosy presence among non-humans might be higher than expected. This, she added, might be of importance in countries where leprosy is still not controlled. It could be that some leprosy cases have been through contact with animals that have it.
The study continues for leprosy bacteria found in red squirrels in Britain and Ireland. Even if leprosy has already been controlled in much of the UK, animal populations still have the disease. The Zika virus might also have a remedy, as an Army-developed vaccine is being tested.
