Nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus animal model for leprosy (Hansen's disease).

摘要: Leprosy ( Hansen’s disease ) is a chronic infectious of mankind caused by Mycobacterium leprae .  Despite several serious scientific attempts, M.leprae has never been cultivated in artificial bacteriological  media. When was identified as the causative germ leprosy, Hansen (who discovered causative  leprosy 1873) attempted to cultivate animal models, but he failed. Nearly 85  years after discovery M. successful transmission and multiplication footpads  laboratory mice achieved. The mouse footpad model, although widely used experimental leprosy,  its own limitations Sheppard, 1960; Rojas Lovik, 2001 ). In 1971, significant advancement in  research made when nine-banded armadillos Dasypus novemcinctus were successfully  infected with developed generalised lepromatous over period 18 24  months post inoculation. Since then, armadillo become favoured model for  Krichheimer et al., 1972; Job 2003 They remain only immunologically  intact species which regularly develops leprosy.Â