is leprosy a zoonotic disease
A significant prevalence of leprosy in wild armadillos establishes this animal as a reservoir of M. leprae, and exposure to armadillos has been implicated as a source of leprosy in humans.Current evidence suggests that leprosy is a zoonosis in certain nonhuman primate species.1)Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C. Naturally-acquired leprosy has been reported in nine-banded armadillos captured in the southern United States, a chimpanzee from Sierra Leone, and in two sooty mangabey monkeys from Nigeria.