![]() ![]() ANCHOR Although the vaccine programme eventually proved impractical, and was closed down, studying the purified bacteria allowed a much greater understanding of leprosy. WHO hoped that this vaccine would eventually eliminate leprosy altogether. Research on the armadillo model allowed the development of an experimental leprosy vaccine, which was purified from killed leprae bacteria. ANCHOR The nine-banded armadillo has now become the principle source of M. Their low body temperature means that leprosy attacks the central organs such as the brain and spinal cord, causing death. Attempts to study the bacteria in vivo using other animal models have failed, as have attempts to grow the bacteria in culture.Īrmadillos are not affected in the same way as humans. The great variation in the severity of the disease appears to relate to differences between individual immune systems. All forms of leprosy are caused by the same bacteria. It can be undetected for years before lesions appear and is found throughout the world. In humans Leprosy affects hands, feet, face and ears – the colder parts of the body – and although it does not cause death, it can cause serious disfigurement. Their low body temperature allows the bacteria to grow, and they are the only animals besides humans to naturally develop the l epromatous form of leprosy. ANCHOR The course of the disease was similar to that of the disease in humans, with 8 out of 20 armadillos developing the most severe form, l epromatous leprosy, within 5 years following inoculation. ![]() Leprosy was discovered in wild armadillos in southern parts of the United States and in 1974 the armadillo was proposed as a model for biomedical research into leprosy. " Without armadillos, there would not be much research on leprosy," - Meyers, Armed Forces Institute ![]()
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