Which of the following is the standard animal model used for propagating Mycobacterium leprae and testing drug susceptibility?

• A Guinea pig
• B Nine-banded armadillo
• C Syrian hamster
• D Mouse footpad ✓

Explanation

Mycobacterium leprae cannot be cultured in artificial media. The mouse footpad inoculation, standardized by Shepard, is the standard in vivo model for propagating the bacillus and performing drug susceptibility testing. The cooler temperature of the footpad allows multiplication. The nine-banded armadillo is used for mass harvesting of bacilli for vaccine research, but mouse footpad remains the gold standard for susceptibility testing.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 26th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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