Florida Faces Surge in Hansen's Disease Linked to Armadillos

An ancient scourge is resurfacing in Florida, and officials are frantic to find the cause. As many as 17 cases of Hansen's disease have appeared in north and central parts of the state by July 18 this year. This chronic bacterial infection targets the skin, peripheral nerves, and upper respiratory tract. Without treatment, it causes permanent nerve damage and other serious problems.

Many Americans might be stunned that such a stigmatized illness still exists here. Yet Hansen's disease infects up to 225 people in the US and 250,000 worldwide each year. Florida has turned into a hotspot recently. Fourteen counties with more than nine million residents have reported cases.

The exact source remains unconfirmed, but scientists point to the nine-banded armadillo. This animal carries the bacterium that triggers the disease. Norman Beatty, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine, told the Daily Mail there is proof that direct contact with an armadillo, whether alive or dead, can cause infection.

In some communities, eating the animal is viewed as a Southern delicacy. Beatty treats leprosy patients in Florida and said his clinic found at least two patients who ate armadillo and might have been exposed while preparing or handling it. A 54-year-old man in central Florida received a diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy in 2022 after seeking help for a rash.

"We would want to avoid touching or eating the animal," he said. Beatty also noted his clinic has identified additional cases not yet reported to the state health department or included in official counts. These numbers will keep growing through the rest of this year. Why take any chances with an unknown threat?

Florida is on course to eclipse last year's case count, a shift that signals changing times for a disease long thought to be under control. The state logged 36 confirmed infections in 2025, which nearly doubles the twenty cases seen in 2024. This jump represents a sharp break from history, as Florida averaged just six annual cases between 1992 and 2014 before seeing twenty-nine infections hit in 2015 alone. Since that spike, the state has averaged over twenty-one examples per year, totaling approximately two hundred fourteen reports across the last ten years.

The current wave of diagnoses scattered through Charlotte, Miami-Dade, and Volusia shows two infections each, while Brevard, Duval, Highlands, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Okeechobee, Orange, Seminole, St Johns, and Sumter each recorded a single case. Scientists are convinced the nine-banded armadillo drives these outbreaks. Norman Beatty, a leading expert on the condition, told reporters the rise is probably multifactorial, driven partly by doctors becoming better at recognizing the disease and Florida's growing, aging population. His clinic sees leprosy most often in patients during their sixties and seventies, an age pattern that differs from other parts of the world where younger people and even children face higher diagnosis rates.

Warnings are sounding now that Hansen's disease may be endemic to parts of Florida, meaning the bacterium circulates locally rather than appearing only in travelers returning from overseas infections. Several patients admitted they had no history of travel to countries with widespread leprosy, no known prolonged contact with an infected person, and no direct exposure to armadillos. Some locals who contracted the illness believe the infection came through soil contaminated with the bacteria. We also have another group of people who have never touched an armadillo or even seen one but interacted in the soil, Beatty said.

Some individuals worked in industries involving frequent soil exposure, while for others their only known outdoor contact was golfing. Beatty insists infections are likely caused by interacting with armadillos and even eating them. He urges people to wear gloves when handling soil in areas where these animals live, particularly around burrows and gardens where they dig. Despite the increase, health officials stress that leprosy remains rare, difficult to catch, and curable with antibiotics. Approximately ninety-five percent of people are naturally resistant to the bacteria that cause it.

Beatty said research involving his clinic's patients found little evidence that Floridians were passing the disease directly to one another. Our household contact data does not show much, if any, transmission between humans, he stated. Humans are infectious to others in some situations, but it is probably less common than anyone ever thought. Instead, Beatty said his team's research points toward environmental and animal exposure as the more likely sources of infection in Florida. Because the bacteria multiply extremely slowly, symptoms can take years and sometimes as long as two decades to emerge after a person becomes infected.

Early warning signs include discolored, pale or reddish patches of skin that may have little or no sensation. Patients may also develop nodules, thick or dry skin, painless ulcers on the soles of their feet, and swelling around the face or earlobes. Other symptoms include the loss of eyebrows or eyelashes, numbness, weakened or paralyzed muscles, and enlarged nerves around the elbows, knees, or neck. The disease can also attack the eyes and nasal passages, causing vision problems, congestion, or recurring nosebleeds. Without treatment, the infection can inflict permanent nerve damage, leaving patients unable to feel pain in affected areas.

Florida officials are urging residents to wear gloves when handling soil that might hold contaminated bacteria. This simple step prevents burns, cuts, and other wounds from going unnoticed until they become severely infected. Contrary to a long-standing myth, the disease does not make fingers and toes simply fall off on their own. Instead, repeated injuries, chronic ulcers, and secondary infections destroy tissue and cause digits to shorten or be lost entirely. Advanced cases can also result in paralysis, blindness, and facial disfigurement.

Beatty stated that early diagnosis is crucial because antibiotics can cure the infection but cannot always reverse damage already done. The longer you live with leprosy untreated, yes, there are chronic sequelae. You might develop a chronic neuropathy or skin lesions that remain for life. Treatment varies according to the specific form of leprosy patients have. Typically, medical teams use at least three different types of antibiotics with distinct mechanisms of action. This bacterium grows slowly, so treatment lasts longer than for other infectious diseases. A person will be on antibiotics for one to two years.

Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humanity. The earliest skeletal evidence was discovered in India and dates back roughly 4,000 years. The disease likely spread across continents through ancient migration, conquering armies, and international trade routes. However, its precise origin remains disputed with studies pointing to possible beginnings in Africa or Asia. Ancient religious texts describe people with certain skin diseases being isolated and forced to announce themselves as unclean. Historians caution that not every biblical reference to leprosy described the illness now known as Hansen's disease.

Beatty said his team is working hard to dismantle the ancient stigma surrounding this condition. They want patients to understand effective treatment is available right now. This is a disease that is curable, and early recognition can prevent any chronic sequelae seen in later stages. We have treatments that can cure you of leprosy.