{"id":348806,"date":"2026-07-22T17:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/348806\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T17:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:24:14","slug":"armadillos-likely-behind-floridas-surge-in-leprosy-cases-heres-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/348806\/","title":{"rendered":"Armadillos likely behind Florida\u2019s surge in leprosy cases. Here\u2019s what you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLORIDA \u2013 Florida saw an uptick in reported leprosy cases in 2025 and has continued to record new infections in 2026, according to the National Hansen\u2019s Disease Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Florida recorded 36 confirmed cases of Hansen\u2019s disease, also called leprosy, in 2025, according to Florida Department of Health figures reported by state and regional news outlets. State data cited in local reporting showed 27 of those 36 cases were acquired in Florida rather than abroad.<\/p>\n

Through mid\u2011July 2026, Florida had reported 17 cases for the year, according to state health figures cited in local news coverage. Those counts are provisional and reflect cases reported to the Florida Department of Health<\/a> as of the dates noted in the reports.<\/p>\n

Public-health and university investigators say the increase has been concentrated in parts of Central Florida. The University of Florida\u2019s Emerging Pathogens Institute said Brevard County accounted for 40 of the state\u2019s 74 confirmed cases from 2019 through 2022 \u2014 far outpacing other counties in that period \u2014 and singled out counties along the Interstate 4 corridor for additional attention.<\/p>\n

Florida Department of Health data reported in July 2026 listed cases across a range of counties, including Brevard, Charlotte, Duval, Highlands, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Miami\u2011Dade, Okeechobee, Orange, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia. Local reporting noted that some cases were acquired outside Florida or outside the United States.<\/p>\n

Scientists have long known that the nine\u2011banded armadillo can carry Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes Hansen\u2019s disease. A 2011 genomic study found armadillos and many patients in the southern United States harbored essentially identical strains of the bacterium, supporting probable zoonotic transmission in some cases. A 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report and subsequent university investigations documented rising numbers of locally acquired infections in central Florida and a growing share of patients with no travel to leprosy\u2011endemic countries.<\/p>\n

Health officials emphasize that leprosy remains rare and that the overall risk to the general public is low. The disease most commonly spreads after prolonged, close contact with an untreated person; zoonotic transmission from armadillos is considered a recognized but uncommon route. Most people \u2014 roughly 95% \u2014 are naturally resistant to infection, federal health information notes.<\/p>\n

Leprosy is curable. Standard multidrug therapy prevents disability and makes patients noninfectious soon after treatment begins. Public-health guidance advises people to avoid handling, skinning or eating armadillos; to wear gloves and wash exposed skin if contact is unavoidable; and to tell health care providers about any armadillo exposure when seeking care for persistent skin lesions, numbness or other symptoms suggestive of Hansen\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Officials said improving clinician awareness is critical because the disease can take years or even decades to show symptoms and is often misdiagnosed, delaying treatment that prevents nerve damage.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FLORIDA \u2013 Florida saw an uptick in reported leprosy cases in 2025 and has continued to record new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,571,40688],"class_list":["post-348806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-health","tag-leprosy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}