Leprosy in the U.S.

 Having recently read Abraham Verghese’s A Covenant of Water—part of which takes place in a leper colony—I was drawn to an article about leprosy in The New York Times.  According to the article, 159 new cases in the U.S. were reported in 2020, the most recent year for which national data are available. Apparently, the disease pops up regularly in Florida, especially the central part. New cases are also reported in California, Louisiana, Hawaii, New York, and Texas.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. Happily, most of us are resistant to the bacteria, which are transmitted by droplets from the nose and mouth of an infected patient, but only after close, sustained contact. Caught early enough, leprosy can be cured with standard antibiotic drugs.

Left untreated, the disease may damage skin, peripheral nerves, the upper respiratory tract and the eyes. By slowly destroying muscles, it leads to deformities in the hands and feet. It starts with either discolored, numb patches on the skin or with tiny nodules under it. Early symptoms can be mistaken for other skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema.

While the disease is rare in the U.S., roughly 200,000 cases crop up all over the world each year, mostly in Southeast Asia and India. In the U.S., new cases are often found in people who have traveled to other parts of the world. But since 2015, more than a third of the cases in the U.S. have been locally acquired. Interestingly, Armadillos carry the bacteria.

Because leprosy is rare in the U.S, and because most of us are immune to the disease, you don’t need to worry about it! Just try to stay clear of Armadillos.

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