Nine-banded armadillos are a common sight across the southern US.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll find them digging in flower beds and underneath your porch. Sometimes, unfortunately, they unsuccessfully attempt to cross a busy road.<\/p>\n
They are, for the most part, harmless. But experts say the adorable armored creatures may be the culprit behind a rising number of cases of an ancient disease.<\/p>\n
Armadillos are prevalent across the southern US, but their territory is expanding north. Alizada Studios \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Well, \u201cancient\u201d is only partly true \u2014 it is a 4,000-year-old<\/a> disease. But leprosy, AKA Hansen\u2019s Disease, infects as many as 200,000 around the world today.<\/p>\n In the US, there are several hundred cases<\/a> a year and cases are climbing. And Florida has some of the highest rates of infection<\/a> in the country, with 17 so far this year.<\/p>\n Cases have been steadily climbing, too: Florida had just 8 cases in 2022, 23 in 2023, 20 in 2024, and 26 last year. Central Florida appears to be a hot spot for cases, with 40 of the 74 cases reported from 2019 to 2022 (55%) in Brevard County, WJXT4<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n What is leprosy?<\/p>\n This disease is caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It grows slowly, so it could take someone infected up to 20 years to develop symptoms.<\/p>\n The bacteria affects the skin and nerves<\/a>. People may develop thick areas of skin and ulcers and lose eyebrow hairs or eyelashes. It also causes numbness and paralysis, particularly in the hands and feet. It could also lead to blindness.<\/p>\n The shunning of people with the disease (as you might read in the Bible, where leprosy appears 68 times<\/a>) is an outdated but pervasive association.<\/p>\n Leprosy does not easily spread between people. Around 95% of people have a natural immunity to it, and it requires prolonged exposure to spread.<\/p>\n Also, it is very curable. People who contract it will get a regimen of antibiotics, and they\u2019re no longer contagious after the first dose<\/a>.<\/p>\n If treated early, leprosy remains a skin condition. But it can cause lasting nerve damage that can\u2019t be reversed even if the disease is cured. jokekung \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Why is Florida a leprosy hot spot?<\/p>\n Armadillos are natural carriers of the bacteria that causes Hansen\u2019s Disease.<\/p>\n They\u2019re prevalent across southern states like Texas and Louisiana, but have been moving north for a few hundred years. Some experts believe they\u2019ve moved as far north as Massachusetts<\/a>.<\/p>\n They love warm, wet climates and dig in soil to get their meals, often bugs and snails. The animals are also often in their burrows<\/a> resting and raising their young.<\/p>\n It\u2019s in the dirt scientists believe this Mycobacterium leprae bacteria is transferring to humans, who might be handling that soil to garden or care for their home.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere the armadillo eats, lives, and reproduces, everything could affect the chance of a human being exposed to leprosy. That\u2019s because the bacteria that causes leprosy can remain for a while in the soil,\u201d said Juan Manuel Campos Krauer<\/a>, an assistant professor at University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\n Symptoms of leprosy could take up to 20 years to appear. WavebreakMediaMicro \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n How to protect yourself<\/p>\n Most people in the US get infected in another country where leprosy is more common, like Brazil, India, and Indonesia, according to the CDC. These countries report more than 10,000 new cases a year.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s important to note that Hansen\u2019s Disease is still very rare here, with at most 250 cases a year.<\/p>\n Still, don\u2019t touch armadillos. And if you\u2019re working in the soil, experts recommend wearing gloves and being conscious of contamination.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the question of roadkill. Several experts have raised the possibility that bacteria spreads when an armadillo dies on the road.<\/p>\n