Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae and rarely by M. lepromatosis.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida has seen an increase in leprosy cases that lack traditional risk factors. Though about 95% of people have natural immunity to leprosy, the gradual increase in cases has been cause for concern. The National Hansen’s Disease Program reported 159 new cases in the United States in 2020, with Florida being one of the top reporting states accounting for 69% of the total new cases.

To learn more about the disease, visit our website to read the article, "Leprosy in Florida: medical experts monitoring unusual, new cases of Hansen’s disease": https://epi.ufl.edu/2023/10/16/lepros....

Fun fact: Did you know that human populations that had never been exposed to the western hemisphere had been documented to have leprosy? Some researchers theorize that humans are the source that infected armadillo populations when humans first made contact with the animal.

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