BY DARREN ORF

PUBLISHED: AUG 10, 2023

Although perceived as an antiquated disease, leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) still infects more than 200,000 people in 120 countries—and the U.S. is one of them.

A new CDC case report shows that, of the 159 leprosy cases reported in the U.S. in 2020, some one-fifth of them came from central Florida.

Of those cases, 34 percent of them were locally acquired, meaning leprosy is potentially becomingLeprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, feels more like an ancient method of biblical punishment than a modern medical concern. After all, it’s been curable for nearly 80 years. But despite its age-old connotation, the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae remains a real and very present danger, with some 200,000 people in 120 countries reporting the tell-tale signs of the disease—chiefly skin lesions, lumps, ulcers, and loss of sensation. And the United States is a member of that unenviable list.

In the U.S., there are about 150 reported cases of leprosy every year, with many of the cases related to persons traveling to countries where the disease is endemic. But a new case report published this week by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the southeastern U.S., and especially central Florida, has become a particular hotspot for the disease. endemic in the state.

“The number of reported cases has more than doubled in the southeastern states over the last decade. According to the National Hansen’s Disease Program, 159 new cases were reported in the United States in 2020; Florida was among the top reporting states,” the case report says. “Central Florida, in particular, accounted for 81 percent of cases reported in Florida and almost one fifth of nationally reported cases.”

But one of the more concerning statistics is that, in 34 percent of reported cases, the disease is thought to have been acquired locally. This means that leprosy could very well become an endemic disease in Central Florida. The researchers note that the disease is likely spread through prolonged human-to-human contact (via respiratory droplets). But it could also possibly be spread through zootropic methods—animal-to-human contact—as some native nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) contained the same leprosy strains.

Concerningly, this news arrives only a few months after the CDC also identified cases of locally acquired Malaria—in Texas and, once again, in Florida. Both malaria and leprosy are considered tropical and sub-tropical diseases, so Florida is a likely candidate to host such troublesome infections

Although the resurgence of the disease in the U.S. is definitely bad news, leprosy isn’t as devastating as those ancient biblical reports may have you believe. For one, “leprosy” in ancient texts likely isn’t a description of modern Hansen’s disease (and no, your digits and limbs don’t just fall off). Also, 95% of people are naturally immune to the disease, meaning only a very small subset of people can be infected with the bacteria in the first place. Finally, the disease is relatively easily to treat with a multi-drug therapy, and once someone starts treatment, they can no longer spread it to others.

So, while true leprosy isn’t exactly “wrath of God” type stuff, warming temperatures due to climate change will only bring more diseases to the southern U.S.—and some may not be so easy to inoculate.

DARREN ORF
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.