Leprosy could be endemic in Central Florida, CDC says. What to know about the disease.

Leprosy is typically spread through extended close contact with an untreated infected person.

Casual contact does not lead to infection — you can't catch leprosy from shaking hands, hugging or sitting next to someone during a meal or on the bus, the CDC states. "It is not known exactly how Hansen's disease spreads between people. Scientists currently think it may happen when a person with Hansen's disease coughs or sneezes, and a healthy person breathes in the droplets containing the bacteria," the organization's website reads."Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease.

"Treatment usually lasts between one to two years," the CDC says."The illness can be cured if treatment is completed as prescribed." Early diagnosis is also key, since treatment can cure the disease and prevent it from getting worse, but treatment does not reverse nerve damage that may have already occurred, the organization notes.

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