According to the study, about 150 cases of leprosy are diagnosed each year in the US. About two-thirds of those people contract the disease while travelling overseas. But epidemiologists have long been curious about the other third that get sick at home — mostly in Texas and Louisiana. And armadillos have been the primary suspect.
But how is the disease transmitted from varmit to person?
Seerveld says he frequently handles armadillos without gloves. But most armadillos don’t carry the disease, he reasoned, and most people are effectively immune to it. So he saw it as a low-risk proposition. And researchers agree.
Eating them, however, is a different story. And in Texas, armadillo has become something of a blue-collar delicacy, a popular candidate for stews and chili bowls. Google “armadillo” and half your hits will be recipes, mostly for barbecue or chili.
For Seerveld, that’s going too far. “I’ve never eaten armadillo meat, although I have met many people who have,” he says. “Some people are curious about the taste, and others are more akin to bushmeat hunters, who will eat anything.”
To get sick, several things have to go wrong. Once people decide to eat the meat, then they have to undercook it – because thorough cooking will quickly kill the bacteria. Even then, people also need to be unlucky, since most armadillos do NOT carry the disease, and most people are immune to it.
So people are likely to keep carving up armadillo meat and tossing it in the chili pot, Seerveld says. Because, in America, “everything is considered a delicacy by someone.”
According to the study, about 150 cases of leprosy are diagnosed each year
in the US. About two-thirds of those people contract the disease while
travelling overseas. But epidemiologists have long been curious about the
other third that get sick at home — mostly in Texas and Louisiana. And
armadillos have been the primary suspect.
But how is the disease transmitted from varmit to person?
Seerveld says he frequently handles armadillos without gloves. But most
armadillos don’t carry the disease, he reasoned, and most people are
effectively immune to it. So he saw it as a low-risk proposition. And
researchers agree.
Eating them, however, is a different story. And in Texas, armadillo has
become something of a blue-collar delicacy, a popular candidate for stews
and chili bowls. Google “armadillo” and half your hits will be recipes, mostly for barbecue or chili.
For Seerveld, that’s going too far. “I’ve never eaten armadillo meat,
although I have met many people who have,” he says. “Some people are
curious about the taste, and others are more akin to bushmeat hunters, who
will eat anything.”
To get sick, several things have to go wrong. Once people decide to eat the meat, then they have to undercook it – because thorough cooking will
quickly kill the bacteria. Even then, people also need to be unlucky, since most armadillos do NOT carry the disease, and most people are immune to it.
So people are likely to keep carving up armadillo meat and tossing it in the chili pot, Seerveld says. Because, in America, “everything is considered a delicacy by someone.”
没吃过。有点吓人。