It has recently been discovered that red squirrels in Britain and Ireland carry the leprosy bacteria. As of now, they pose little threat to humans. There are people who are still worried about the red squirrel leprosy, though, and ask: could it spread to humans?
The red squirrels in parts of Britain and Ireland have the leprosy bacteria. The red squirrels there are carrying one strain of the leprosy bacteria, M. lepromatosis. While most of the squirrels have this strain, some of them carry another strain, which is M. leprae.
110 of the red squirrels have been studied to find out how they were able to get the leprosy bacteria. These red squirrels have been taken from Britain, Ireland and Scotland. Charlotte Avanzi is the study's lead author and a biochemist. She said that with the presence of the leprosy bacteria on red squirrels, it shows that the disease is still in the environment even if it has been eradicated from human habitation.
Leprosy has previously been known to be a disease found only in humans, according to the Inquisitr. However, the bacteria has been found to be on nine-banded armadillos as well. These armadillos are found in the United States, and around 16 percent of the 645 armadillos studied were found to have the leprosy bacteria.
It is not sure yet how the red squirrels got the leprosy bacteria, though, as speculated by Richard Truman. He is a microbiologist from National Hansen's Disease Program in Baton Rouge and not part of the study. It can be seen that the leprosy bacteria can last long even outside human populations.
Antibiotic has largely controlled leprosy in some areas, as Science News notes. Even so, there are still a number of people being infected by it. As many as 200,000 people are infected each year, mostly coming from Africa and Southeast Asia. There is little to worry, though, as 95 percent of humans have immunity to the disease.
Earlier in a report, it has been noted by Professor Kenrad Nelson that red squirrels don't pose a threat to humans, as contact between humans and red squirrels are low. For those who are asking if red squirrel leprosy: could it spread to humans? The threat is quite low, and that there is not much to worry about.
