A year ago I gave CPR to an armadillo and my fiancé says I need to ask if I’m going to get leprosy
Hi everyone. I realize this is one of the dumbest things ever, but I am unfortunately being serious.
About a year ago, my sister and I were trying to get an armadillo out of a hole because my parents’ guard dog was trying to kill it. In our infinite wisdom, we remembered seeing somewhere (possibly Ice Age?) that water could flush animals out of burrows.
Well. It did come out, but unresponsive.
I felt horrible and panic-attempted rescue breathing/CPR on the armadillo before my brain caught up to the fact that armadillos are one of the few animals associated with Leprosy.
There were no bites or scratches, but definitely close contact with saliva/secretions. At the time I kind of shoved the memory into the back of my brain and moved on with life.
Fast forward to now: I casually mentioned this story to my fiancé and he reacted like I personally tried to French kiss the Black Plague. So now I’m here asking people who actually know wildlife:
Was this a genuinely concerning exposure, or just a wildly regrettable but statistically unlikely life event?
I know Hansen’s disease can have a very long incubation period, which is why my brain has now decided this is suddenly relevant again a year later.
Please be kind. I have already accepted that “armadillo CPR” was not a medically recommended activity.