“Reluctant Hero”

Leprosy is a dreadful disease that affects perhaps as many as 15 million persons, particularly in Africa, India, Burma, Thailand, and parts of South America. Now the nine-banded armadillo is hailed as “the reluctant hero” in man’s fight against the disease.

But how does this small mammal of about two feet in length (61 cm), weighing up to 15 pounds (6.8 kg) and having a shell made of hard, bony plates, figure in this fight?

Well, it has been found that the only animals susceptible to human leprosy are mice and armadillos. So scientists are using the armadillo to make the first vaccine against leprosy, since mice produce too small a quantity to be usable. One infected armadillo yields 750 doses of vaccine. Now, special farms have been set up in the United States and Britain to raise the armored mammal.