Florida is fighting against record-high leprosy cases as it tries to bounce back from a measles outbreak.
Health officials claim the entire nation has experienced an increase in leprosy cases, with over 20% of these coming from The Sunshine State.
CDC Releases Report Detailing Increase in Leprosy Cases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report last year revealing there were there were over 159 cases of leprosy were recorded in 2020.
According to the CDC report, over 20% of the cases recorded four years ago were from the state of Florida.
What Is Leprosy?
Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a specific form of bacteria.
According to the World Health Organization, over 200,000 new cases of leprosy are recorded around the world each year. Many are the result of human contact with armadillos.
One of the World’s Oldest Diseases
Commonly referred to as Hansen’s disease, leprosy is one of the world’s oldest recorded diseases. Human remains dating back thousands of years have been discovered with the disease, according to University College London.
Leprosy mainly affects the peripheral nerves, skin, and eyes and brings on symptoms such as skin lesions. While treatable, it could lead to life-threatening problems for those who don’t seek medical attention.
Leprosy Cases Continue to Climb in the US
While leprosy can be passed on to an individual who comes into contact with respiratory drips from an infected person, not everyone who comes into contact with the bacterium will develop the disease.
However, cases in southeastern states, including Florida, have more than doubled over the past twenty years, and health officials are beginning to worry.
Steady Increase of Leproasy in Florida
Speaking with Newsweek, Francisca Mutapi, a professor in Global Health Infection and Immunity and co-director of the Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh, discussed the increasing cases of leprosy in Florida.
“Florida reported 10 cases of leprosy every year between 2002 and 2014. This rose to 29 new cases in 2015. There were 15 new cases in 2023,” she said.
Global Leprosy Cases Dropped in 2020
Accroding to Mutapi, leprosy cases in the US dropped in 2020. However, the nation has since seen a slight surge.
“Global case detection rates dropped between 2019 and 2020, but this has been rising since then. The WHO attributes part of the decline in case detection rates to the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on health services,” she said.
Leprosy Cases Steadily Increasing in the US
Mutapi explained that while cases have shot up in recent years, they haven’t yet reached the levels witnessed in 2019.
“The number of new cases post-2019 is growing, but reported cases to date are still lower than those reported in 2019 (202,166 new cases) compared to those detailed in the latest WHO report from 2022 (174,087 new cases),” said Mutapi.
What’s Behind the Recent Increase in Leprosy Cases?
“We currently do not know what is driving the reported increase of leprosy cases in Florida. Studies are currently underway to determine how infections are being transmitted, i.e., between humans vs infections from animals to humans.”
Mutapi continued, “People may become infected from other people with untreated leprosy or from the nine-banded armadillo, a natural host of the bacteria causing the disease.”
Doctors Fear Leprosy Has Established Itself in the US
With the steady increase in cases over the past few years, medical experts are now worried the disease has established itself in the US.
“34 percent of new case patients during 2015–2020 appeared to have locally acquired the disease. Several cases in central Florida demonstrate no clear evidence of zoonotic exposure or traditionally known risk factors,” the CDC report said.
Genetics Plays a Role in Chance of Infection
According to John Stewart Spencer, an associate professor and leprosy researcher at Colorado State University, genetics plays a vital role in the chance of infection.
“Genetics plays a key role in susceptibility or resistance, and it has been estimated that over 90 percent of all humans on the planet have a natural immunity to mycobacterial infection, including tuberculosis, leprosy, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM),” Spencer said.
Leprosy Spike Comes Amidst Measles Outbreak in Florida
The recent surge in recorded leprosy cases in The Sunshine State comes during a measles outbreak.
Joseph Ladapo, the surgeon general of Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis, has come under fire after he advised unvaccinated children to return to school during the outbreak.
