[Leprosy in a chimpanzee].

Norihisa Ishii1, Toshifumi Udono, Michiko Fujisawa

  • 1Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. norishii@nih.go.jp

Summary

A rare case of leprosy in a chimpanzee provides definitive proof of Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) infection developing after latency. This finding suggests leprosy may be endemic in wild West African chimpanzees, posing a potential zoonotic risk.

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