Yes, an Armadillo Can Give You Leprosy 151
sciencehabit writes "For years, scientists have speculated that armadillos can pass on leprosy to humans, and that they are behind the few dozen cases of the disease that occur in the US every year. Now, they have evidence. A genetic study published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that US armadillos and human patients share what seems to be a unique strain of the bacterium that causes leprosy. If an armadillo's blood 'got on my tires of my car from running [the animal] over, I would wash it down,' advises one expert. 'And I would not dig in soil that has a lot of armadillo excrement.'"
Leprosy can be cured. (Score:3, Funny)
I've never run across a patient with leprosy but in The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, I read about a person in Texas who went to her Chirporactor with leprosy sores. The Doctor performed some excellent manipulations which got the patient's nervous system in tip-top shape to battle the infection.
After intense treatments the leprosy was GONE.
Re:Leprosy can be cured. (Score:4, Funny)
There's just one problem with curing leprosy: bloody do-gooders [youtube.com].
Re:Leprosy can be cured. (Score:5, Funny)
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Leprosy has a fairly high recovery chance (50% IIRC) even in the rare case that it does break out (most people will not catch leprosy even when infected with the pathogen, the immune system fends it off). It doesn't need an external cause.
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Chiropractors don't work that way. They realign the spine and frequently give exercises to keep the core strong and healthy, this would be way out of their typical scope of practice. And there's little overlap there, pharmaceuticals don't solve postural problems, at best they'll loosen up a back spasm, but they definitely won't do anything for the underlying condition.
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You got Trolled!
Let it go.
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Chiropractors don't work that way. They realign the spine and frequently give exercises to keep the core strong and healthy, this would be way out of their typical scope of practice.
There's a lot of people that think that chiropractors can cure diseases by realignments and things like that. It's crazy, but people also believe in homeopathic "medicine", which is really just water with about .00000001% of something else in it. A lot of chiropractors are into alternative medicine type stuff. I knew one guy, he would go to the store, buy some raw steak, and eat it in the car on the way home.
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There are a surprising number of ailments (all caused by irritated and pinched nerves) that a chiropractor can alleviate. Most of it can also be handled by yoga postures practiced at home.
I don't think leprosy is one of those ailments though.
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There are a surprising number of ailments (all caused by irritated and pinched nerves) that a chiropractor can alleviate.
You're right, but those aren't viral/bacterial diseases. They're all skeletal issues. After 12 years of football my neck cracks a lot, and I've thought about going to see a chiropractor to have it looked at. But if I get sick or have pain, I'm going to a doctor.
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Many of the conditions aren't skeletal at all. The digestive tract for example seems to be especially vulnerable to chronic issues caused by nerve irritation or compression. Conventional western medicine seems to be particularly bad at correctly diagnosing those conditions. However, you're quite right that none of them are viral or bacterial diseases.
A holistic approach does suggest that if the patient suffers chronic pain or disruption of the sympathetic nervous system, they may also have immune suppressio
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Even better news is that almost everybody is immune to leprosy so the chances of getting infected is very small.
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I used to be a skeptic of Chiropractor but after doing a trade for service I think it's part of staying healthy. The one I go to is really inexpensive and uses an acupressure device instead of twisting you around. If I go in with a headcold or a stuffy nose, he'll hit a spot near the upper back and nearly instantly I clear up. It doesn't last but it's the oddest thing. Your holistic approach comment makes sense to me, if everything is lined up right the whole system should work more efficiently. But yeah, I
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which is really just water with about .00000001% of something else in it.
You give them far too much credit. The more likely percentage is 0%.
No, it has to be flavored with something to make it taste awful--otherwise it wouldn't be effective at deluding people into thinking it was real. High levels of alcohol in the water might be part of the scam.
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Never know, a chiro could fix a lymphatic problem that lets a persons body heal itself when it otherwise couldn't.
Not saying leprosy would heal, but just the general idea.
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Leprosy works by killing cells that are vital to the neuron function. It's not a matter of lymph or bone alignment, the cells are deprived of their energy supply and starve.
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"Alternative medicine" practitioners are all either lying or mentally ill. I guess I know which you are.
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Many offer courses discussing the dangers of vaccines and autism.
So they are quacks, then, right? Did you miss the memo about how that study that was linking vaccines to autism was a complete fraud [cnn.com]?
An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes the study's author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study -- and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible.
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I think you missed the sarcasm tag...or at least I hope you did and he wasn't serious.
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Many offer courses discussing the dangers of vaccines and autism.
Do they talk about how there is no danger and the whole "vaccines cause autism" scare is a load of crap propagated by unethical scientists and desperate people looking for anyone to blame for their child's condition?
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I once had a loonie bitch tell me that she could cure my diabetes, heart trouble, etc by having me drink herbal tea, you know, eye of newt..
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And since over 80% of all prescription medications are based on plant sources (either derived directly from, or a synthesis thereof) she may well have been right. Or, you know, she might have just been a loony bitch.
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It's like Jesus healing the lepers, only instead of a miracle, this is pseudoscience bunkum.
Re:Leprosy can be cured. (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Leprosy can be cured. (Score:5, Informative)
Mod parent up. Leprosy is no longer an issue. Antibiotics FTW.
Not only this but leprosy is like the bitch version of a bacterial infection. Most of the time, you have to be predisposed to being able to acquire it anyways (or immunocompromised, but that's true with any bacteria/fungus/virus). It's basically somewhere around 10% of the population that can actually acquire leprosy... everyone else could pretty much walk hand in hand with a leper and never catch a thing.
Re:Leprosy can be cured. (Score:4, Interesting)
Seriously, "only" 10% are at risk? 10% is HUGE!
And on the not-so-serious side ...
Q. Why do lepers make such lousy poker players?
A. They have to quit after they've thrown in their hands.
Q. What's small and green and sheds it's skin?
A. A leper-chaun.
Q. What do you call 10 lepers in a hot tub?
A. Oatmeal.
Thank you, thank you ... try the fish.
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Seriously, "only" 10% are at risk? 10% is HUGE!
Yes, this is true, but things like a cold can be caught by 100% of the population (ok, more or less near 100%), but only a small percentage actually catch enough for it take enough of a foothold and cause symptoms.
Imagine if only 10% of people could contract The Plague... rather than wiping out an enormous amount of the population, it would have had a significantly decreased impact on the world. People are crazy likely to explain why only some people get a disease like that, by blaming some personality flaw
Wait, what? (Score:2)
Have you just ruined the entire Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series for me?
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Have you just ruined the entire Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series for me?
No, the entire Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever ruined it for themselves. If he spared you five minutes reading that ...tripe... then you owe him for saving that five minutes of your life you wouldn't have otherwise gotten back.
Here's the story (still irritating a few of my braincells even after 25 years): bitter leper whose life sucks passes out and imagines he's now healthy in a faraway land of magic and swords. The first things he does in this new land are evil (rape and murder). Spends t
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What made it interesting for me was the crossover between the harsh realities of our modern world, including rape and terminal illness, and the softly lit fantasy worlds where innocence is real. I think it got a lot of people's backs up because they assumed it was glorifying rape (central character was a rapist), which Donaldson also followed through with in his superb Gap series, but that wasn't the point at all. You see that same kind of stark contrast in movies like The Fall and Pan's Labyrinth, a breath
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Cool! We've never had a chiropractic troll before (Score:5, Funny)
Welcome to Slashdot, and thanks for bringing something new and original to the art of trolling! When I saw your recent chiropractic trolls, I thought you might be a flash in the pan, but now I see you are here for an extended stay. Thanks for bringing some levity into my otherwise boring day.
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Note to anyone who thinks spun is joking:
Go click on "dr" bobs user page. The name and high UID alone should be a clue. Yes, he is a troll, and yes, he is specifically posting chiro/alt-med comments that he knows will get a reaction. Further to this, the entire thread above this post should serve as proof that it's working.
Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me the number of otherwise intelligent people who will fall for a troll posting deliberate flamebait. At least this one is more subtle than most.
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It's actually pretty funny. Slashdot is one of the more rational and skeptical sites on the Internet. Almost anyplace else, you would get an almost equal number of believers defending the guy. There really are few places less inviting to a real chiropractor. He gives a few hints as to his true nature, I especially like "Subluxations are worse than cancer." Hahaha, oh, that's rich. Unless you really have cancer, in which case I imagine it must feel fairly insulting. "Sorry to hear about your pinched nerve, d
Re:Cool! We've never had a chiropractic troll befo (Score:4, Insightful)
Slashdot is one of the more rational and skeptical sites on the Internet.
Have you any idea how much it scares me that this is true?
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Well, I suppose it should scare you. This is as good as it gets.
Why is it that the older I get, the dumber people appear? Luckily, there is a corollary: the older I get, the less I care. I figure, the world must have always been this way, right? They just lied to us when we were kids, they didn't want us to worry that clowns were running the place. But the world shambles on in its moronic fashion, somehow lurching past one near disaster after another. It gives one some comfort to realize that, as dumb as th
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Chiropractic adjustments for newborn babies is barbarous! Most of my fellow Chiros will refuse to see children under 3, by the time the spine has had time to set.
^ that is pure gold
Re:Leprosy can be cured. (Score:5, Funny)
Well, if you do, remember the advice from the article - wash your tires It's called "getting rid of the evidence.".
And if you;re in the US, run them over a few times to make sure they're really dead, and not just faking it. Your insurance rates won't go up as much if they have to pay for a funeral instead of 50 years of medical expenses.
So, someone needs an expert to tell them not to play in poop? Don't mothers teach their kids not to play with the "clay" in the sandbox any more?
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>>I hear witchdoctors have a success rate equal to chiropractors.
Can witch doctors cure back pain?
Because Chiros are actually really good at that. It's just all the other, vaguely related stuff that is nonsense. But when a dickhead in jiu-jitsu knocked my vertebrae out of alignment (sideways), I could barely stand up until a Chiropractor fixed it.
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Hey, don't knock it, I had a GREAT little Viet, oh never mind..
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Well, if you ever do run across a patient with leprosy, I hope you wash your tires off.
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I'd prefer you gave it to this [wikipedia.org] Hanson.
Letterman... (Score:2)
Had Jack Hanna on the other night, Jack brought out an Armadillo and mentioned something out this. Not sure why I bothered to post this.
Re:Letterman... (Score:5, Funny)
Blood on the tires? (Score:2)
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>He's never had to change a tire in his life where he didn't have washing facilities. Or even change a tire from the looks of the message.
I don't know about you, but when I have to change a tire, it's never in a convenient place where I can wash up. It's always out in the middle of nowhere.
Couple this with the incredible number of times we all touch our faces per hour unconsciously, and yep, you've got a vector.
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BMO
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I guess I did fail to account for the case where you run over the Don Quixote of armadillos that manages to shred your tire as you run him over. But then you wouldn't have anything to wash the tire off with first anyways. My point was along the lines of tire touching is pretty infrequent (unless your doing a shitty job inflating your tires which would explain why changing a tire is something you'd think a better example then checking the pressure) so it seems like you'd be more at risk to exposure by immed
Vectors (and a link to an older article) (Score:3)
More importantly, t
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>fix-a-flat can
Just so you know, unless you specifically buy the non-flammable fix-a-flat, you have filled your tire with a fire/explosion hazard. You are supposed to tell your mechanic that you used a fix-a-flat can so he can purge the tire with air a few times before unmounting the tire.
I've always been diligent about this after a friend/mechanic yelled at me for not telling him.
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BMO
Re:Blood on the tires? (Score:4, Informative)
>He's never had to change a tire in his life where he didn't have washing facilities. Or even change a tire from the looks of the message.
I don't know about you, but when I have to change a tire, it's never in a convenient place where I can wash up. It's always out in the middle of nowhere.
Couple this with the incredible number of times we all touch our faces per hour unconsciously, and yep, you've got a vector.
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BMO
On several occasions that I can remember when I've had to change a tire on the road, I've banged up my knuckles on something or other while loosening the lug nuts, or cut myself on some sharp bit of metal while raising the vehicle with the jack. There's reason enough to not want to have known pathogens hanging around your fenders.
Re:Blood on the tires? (Score:5, Funny)
That's it, I'm not going to check the tire pressure with my mouth any more.
Old news (Score:2)
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i guess the news is that the now have evidence to confirm transmission occurs rather than just saying.. hit has it and you might be able to get it, and it would be bad if you did.
To be fair (Score:2)
We humans gave them leprosy to begin with. Leprosy was unknown in the new world before Columbus. Turns out this is just another case of mother nature wanting to kill everything.
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Turns out this is just another case of mother nature wanting to kill everything.
Bender: Hey hot mama, wanna kill all humans?
Mother Nature: Sure!
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"Turns out this is just another case of mother nature wanting to kill everything."
Mother Nature DOES kill everything as part of the process which sustains life. Zero waste, everything turns back into "food".
Pretty cool actually.
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sudo apt-get uninstall armadillo (Score:2)
Am I only one who has no clue how to tell if excrement is from an armadillo or not? Much less whether a patch of dirt has a lot in it?
It doesn't matter. Just run this and you'll be fine:
sudo apt-get uninstall armadillo
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/armadillo/ [launchpad.net]
Hellfire (Score:5, Insightful)
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I invoke Rule 34
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Nothing a wee bit of hurtloam can't cure!
Re:Hellfire (Score:5, Funny)
Sorry, my bad
Thank Goodness I Read This When I Did! (Score:2)
Well, hell (Score:2)
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at least now I know why I feel so numb after working all day on my armadillo farm.
That's not leprosy, that's the creeping sense of despair one feels when they realise they've ended up working on an armadillo farm.
Two tools can solve that problem. (Score:2)
A varmint rifle and a shovel. Turn the critter into a red mist from a distance, bury it later if it's not in a convenient spot.
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Yeah, spread as much as possible of the infectious material into an aerosol in the air... Great idea. The last thing you need to do to a potentially infectious creature is to shoot it.
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Sound advice (Score:2)
Oddly enough, this has been my family's motto for five generations.
Obvious... (Score:2)
'And I would not dig in soil that has a lot of armadillo excrement.'
I can think of several reasons other than leprosy why I would avoid doing this.
95% of people have a natural immunity (Score:2)
With the caveat that you also have to be in the 5% of people that don't have a natural immunity to it already.
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NOOOO! (Score:2)
I can't go digging in soil with Armadillo excrement? Well there goes my vacation plans!
Reminds me of something I read once. (Score:2)
From a parenting book:
Q. Do diapers give you leprosy?
A. No. Its the pee and the poopoo that give you leprosy. Diapers give you hives.
But seriously, I'm not surprised that there is an animal/human vector for what is, after all, a virological disease.
So let go of that armadillo, Joe. You might catch something.
Ah. (Score:2)
So that's what killed The Clash. Mystery solved.
Don't go to Australia, either. :( (Score:2)
You can get chlamydia [theweek.com] from a koala, those adorable little sluts.
If you're having marital relations with a koala, chlamydia is probably the least of your problems.
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You laugh, but a friend of mine did her doctoral thesis on chlamydia in koalas. It is a serious problem threatening an already at risk species.
There goes our Firday night (Score:2)
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They are commonly eaten. In Central and South America, they are an important source of protein. In fact, many consider them a delicacy. Armadillos frequently sell out in markets by mid morning specifically because they are in high demand.
The fact leprosy follows an age and gender trends suggests you're far more likely to get leprosy playing and working than from consumption of its flesh. Interestingly enough, armadillos are only found in the Americas and yet Asia and Africa have far, far, far higher rates o
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Or you could eat the grain, then go kill something worth eating.
Or feed the grain to a chicken and eat that.
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Pollution and energy wastage isn't inherent in raising animals to eat - just in certain forms of it. Ranching cattle in areas unsuitable for raising common crops, for example. On the other hand, the raising of pretty much any crop results in the death of some animals, whether by insecticide, destruction of habitat, or harvesting.
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Where you ranch has very little to do with energy waste or pollution.
It depends exactly on what you mean by "wasted energy". If cattle are grazed on land that could otherwise be used for raising corn/wheat, then you could say that they are "wasting" the energy difference between the expected output of a crop, and the expected output of the cattle. If you graze them in places where corn couldn't be grown anyway, they "waste" no energy (or at least, no energy that wasn't already being wasted by people not eating the grass).
Cattle produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases irrespective of where you put them, among other things
Cattle only produce the huge amounts of greenhouse gas
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If you're .au you can buy kanagaroo meat at most supermarkets these days. Kangaroos are not farmed, but raised free-range (purely because it's cheaper to just cull the excess 'roos that are competing with sheep and cattle for grazing) and their metabolism inherently produces less methane than cattle.
Of course, a kangaroo steak is not the same as a nice piece of cow steak. But for other cooking, particularly dishes that use ground or minced meat, kangaroo is very difficult to tell apart in terms of taste. It
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Or, as I temporarily put on my vegetarian's advocate hat, just eat the grain and then some other non-meat sustenance and not kill any animals or contribute to the extra energy waste and pollution inherent in raising animals to eat.
Look in the mirror and open your mouth. See those incisors? They're for chewing meat. See those molars? They're for grinding grains.
You're an omnivore. Fucking deal with it.
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Actually they're kinda cute (Score:2)
I used to work in Sugar Land TX, and we had armadillos and other critters wandering around the office park on a regular basis. In real life, armadillos are cute. They're almost completely blind, so if you are quiet and work closer to them from downwind you can get quite close. They are surprisingly fast (for short distances), grubbing around in the grass looking for bugs and such. Their ears wiggle and they have a cartoony appearance.
If they didn't smell so much they'd probably make an interesting pet -