Leprosy is a disease that affects about 250 people in the United States. It causes disfiguring skin lesions, nerve damage, and progressive debilitation. it can be be cured with a drug regimen if caught early, but if not it can cause permanent nerve damage. Most patients with leprosy-like symptoms are often questioned about their travel history since leprosy is common in areas such as India, Brazil, Africa, and the Philippines.“These patients have always been a puzzle,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. For those who haven't traveled overseas though, leprosy is often ruled out and therefore left untreated.
The third of cases in the United States are concentrated around the Louisiana and Texas area where the hunting, skinning, and eating of the armadillo is common, so because of this recent discovery people are now being warned to limit contact with armadillos and consumption of armadillo meat.
The interesting thing about leprosy and armadillos though is that the disease seems to have the ability to be passed from armadillo to human and human to armadillo. This is known because leprosy was not present in the new world before Christopher Columbus came and armadillos are only indigenous to the New World. Leprosy is one of a number of diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans including the flu, HIV/AIDS, and SARS.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/health/28leprosy.html?ref=science
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