Armadillos are not just critters of the wild west; we have them here in Indiana. Here's what Hoosiers should know.

Do armadillos carry leprosy or other diseases? Yes, armadillos can carry several dangerous diseases including parasitic worms, and in some cases rabies, but the one that scares most people is leprosy.

With armadillos, it’s probably from direct human contact with an infected animal’s flesh or blood. Leprosy is not easily contracted.

Once a curiosity of the South, armadillos have been spotted north of Lafayette and may be breeding in Marion County.

Of the 22 armadillos they have studied, three of them have tested positive for leprosy, which "generally means they've got the bacteria on their body somewhere," Cox said.

There are an unusually high number of leprosy cases cropping up in Florida. Experts said they believe the spike is because of people coming into contact with armadillos. Florida typically sees two ...

However, use caution. If startled, armadillos may jump up to three feet vertically in the air and have been known to break teeth and noses in the process. In rare cases, they may also carry leprosy.

Surveys of armadillos in the Gulf states found that up to 20 percent were infected with M. leprae. At first, armadillos’ susceptibility to leprosy was a boost to science and medicine.

Researchers think the reason the leprosy bacteria grow in armadillos, but not in most other animals, is due to the armadillos' lower body temperature of 32 degrees C (89 degrees F).

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is an ancient scourge that has largely disappeared, but each year about 150 to 250 people in the United States and 250,000 in the world contract the illness.