Leprosy is a chronically infectious disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium leprae, or the more recently discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis. In the Americas, wild armadillos of the Dasypus genus are natural hosts. A systematic review evaluated demographics and spatiotemporal patterns of infection with leprosy-causing bacteria in wild populations of the Dasypus novemcinctus species complex. The Web of Science Core Collection, Biosis Citation Index, Dissertations and Theses, and PubMed databases, in addition to Google Scholar, were searched on 16 April 2022. 158 records were recovered, and six peer-reviewed journal articles were selected and summarized that evaluated the effects of M. leprae-infection on mortality, reproduction, age structure, and sex ratio, in addition to seasonal, annual, and spatial infection patterns. Findings indicate that infection with M. leprae has the potential to impact reproduction, mortality, and population age structure. Studies found that the pathogen does not appear to cluster in populations, but consistent temporal findings were not recovered. A limitation of this review is that there was a single reviewer, which may introduce bias. A better understanding of the impacts and distribution of leprosy in wild populations would allow for improved management recommendations for nuisance Dasypus armadillos throughout their range and limit potential zoonotic transmission.
Sciandra et al. (Wed,) studied this question.