re: Leprosy / Leper colonies question

I worked at the HDC Research Center laboratories in '96-'98 not long after they had been moved to the LSU Vet School.

At the time I was hired after they were given a WHO grant to find a vaccine. I did research in the lab and field. I also assisted in the "animal house" where we kept the armadillos and nude mice.

I also helped keep the house full by catching and supplying it with local armadillos that I would catch. Caught them mostly on family land and the side of the road. We would inoculate them with the mycobacterium, harvest the animal when it had a high bacterial load, and then test drugs against the bacteria.

Went to Carville 4-5 times. It was a unique, serene place. Golf course and it had a large pond that residents would fish and lots of huge pecan trees