A One-Way Ticket to the Leper Colony

Apparently, leprosy is not just a thing that features prominently in those periods movies where people drive Jeeps through the tropics and wear lots of linen; it’s a living breathing horrifying disease that you can still catch — from armadillos. Yes, you read that right. Those strange, slightly prehistoric-looking armored animals are walking around just waiting to ruin you. So unless you want your digits to slowly disintegrate, stay away from them! Even Dr. Anthony Fauci from the NIH says they’re dangerous.

“It doesn’t mean people need to run away from armadillos the way they do a rattlesnake, but people need to be careful. You shoot an armadillo and try to skin it — that’s the worst thing you could do.”

Noted! Just to be safe, maybe steer clear of anything remotely armadillo-related for all time, and definitely never ever eat a red velvet groom’s cake in the shape of an armadillo, not even if Ouiser Boudreaux herself hands you a slice.

Picture via Flickr