Leprosy is on the rise in Florida, with 36 cases reported so far this year, up from 20 in 2024, according to Florida Department of Health statistics.
The most recent case was a man between the ages of 80 and 84 in Leon County, the FDOH said.
Hansen’s disease, the official name for the biblical disease, is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium leprae and mainly infects the lining of the skin, skin veins, and nasal airways. The disease is not easily spread, is easy to treat, and almost everyone has natural protective immunity, according to the FDOH. But if left untreated, permanent nerve damage can occur.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control, up to 225 people in the US and 250,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with it each year.
In Florida, 27 of the 36 people diagnosed with leprosy this year contracted the disease within the state. Of the other nine, one was acquired in the United States outside Florida, three were acquired outside the United States and five cases are unknown.
It can take up to 20 years to develop symptoms, the CDC says, and 95% of people don’t get infected because their immune systems are able to fight off the bacteria.
Here’s what to know.
What is leprosy?
A 54-year-old man from central Florida was diagnosed with lepromatous leprosy in 2022.
Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, has been around for thousands of years, with the earliest known records dating back to 600 BC in China and India. According to the CDC, the most obvious symptoms are skin changes such as discolored or light spots, nodules, painless ulcers on the soles of the feet, painless swelling or peeling of the ears or face. Eyelashes or areas of thick, hard or dry skin.
If left untreated, leprosy can lead to nerve damage, paralysis of the arms and legs, shortening of the legs and toes, chronic non-healing leg ulcers, blindness, nasal deformities and more.
Is there a cure for leprosy?
yes Leprosy is easily cured. Treatment involves a combination of antibiotics for one to two years.
“People treated for Hansen’s disease can lead normal lives among their family and friends and continue to go to work or school,” the CDC said.
Mycobacterium leprae bacteria, which is the causative agent of Hansen’s disease (leprosy).
Does leprosy cause your fingers and toes to fall off?
No, but it’s easy to see where the myth comes from.
Leprosy can damage the nerves in the fingers and toes, causing them to go numb, the CDC said. Injuries may go unnoticed and permanent damage or infection may result in loss of points. In extreme cases, the muscles in the fingers and toes can become so weak that the digits can disintegrate and be reabsorbed by the body.
Is leprosy endemic in Florida?
According to a 2022 report by dermatologists Ashni Bhukhan, DO, Charles Dunn, MD, and Rajeev Nathu, MD, the number of leprosy cases reported nationwide has doubled in the past decade, with 159 new cases reported in the U.S. in 2020.
About 70% of these new cases were reported in Florida, California, Louisiana, Hawaii, New York and Texas, and Central Florida alone accounted for about 20% of the total new cases in the US, according to data from the National Hansen’s Disease Program.
How many cases of leprosy are there in Florida?
According to FDOH data:
In the ten years before that, Florida averaged 8.9 cases per year.
Do armadillos spread leprosy?
In 2023, USA TODAY reported that some experts believed the nine-banded armadillo was behind an increase in domestically transmitted cases. Mammals are the only docile animals other than humans that carry the bacteria that cause leprosy.
A 2015 study by researchers at the National Hansen’s Disease Program found that more than 16% of nearly 650 armadillos tested in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida had the bacteria. Climate change is encouraging armadillos to expand their territories, potentially leading to an increase in cases.
However, scientists have not figured out how the disease is transmitted and no direct armadillo-human transfer has been proven.
“When people hear that armadillos are expanding, they think it’s going to increase the risk of leprosy in the human population, and there’s not a lot of evidence for that at this point,” Jim Loughrey, a retired biology professor at Valdosta State University, said in 2023.
This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat: Leprosy cases rise in Florida, highest in 20 years. what to know
