Article: Leprosy; out of the dark ages.

LEPROSY Out of the Dark Ages

It was nearly midnight and Richard Truman was getting tired. Once more he aimed a hand-held spotlight into the tall grass growing alongside a 50-foot-high levee in southern Louisiana's bayou country. Suddenly, Truman saw a telltale movement in the grass. The veterinary microbiologist quickly grabbed a long-handled net, leaped from his pickup truck, and dashed down the levee. Within minutes he had netted his quarry, a hungry armadillo searching for food.

The armadillo Truman caught that summer night later joined 275 others at the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, La., a U.S. Public Health Service hospital. ...

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