Cases of leprosy — an infectious disease that’s been around since ancient times — have increased dramatically in Florida, and health experts fear the infectious disease is now endemic in the Sunshine State.according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy is usually spread during lengthy person-to-person contact through airborne droplets from the nose and mouth of an infected person.
But since 2000, cases of leprosy have gradually increased, and have more than doubled over the past decade. A patient in Florida has developed an advanced case of leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, that he caught locally.Leprosy has been around since before the Biblical era when people shunned and isolated those with the disease in so-called “leper colonies.” It can now be effectively treated with antibiotics when caught early, so there’s no longer any need to quarantine people.
Symptoms of leprosy include skin patches; numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, arms and legs; painless wounds on the hands and feet; and muscle weakness.