Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week.
The three things I am paying attention to this week all have to do with leprosy.
Yes, LEPROSY — the disease has been around since ancient times and was reported as early as 600 BC in India, China, and Egypt. Leprosy is mentioned in both the Old & New Testaments. In the New Testament, Jesus healed individuals with leprosy (Matthew 8:1–4, Mark 1:40–45, and Luke 5:12–16), and in the Old Testament, the disease is mentioned 55 times (Hebrew = tsara’ath). Leprosy has long been considered a form of divine punishment for worldly sins, and the outward signs of the disease were taken as proof that leprosy victims were utterly embroiled in sin.
According to the World Health Organization, leprosy still occurs in more than 120 countries worldwide, with more than 200,000 new cases reported every year.
Leprosy has been all over the news this week because the number of cases in Florida and the southeastern part of the United States is on the rise. And CDC is saying that leprosy has become endemic (more about what this means below).
Here are three things you need to know about this report and leprosy…
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Leprosy, officially Hansen’s disease, is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. The disease can infect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose. The bacteria attack the nerves, which can become swollen under the skin. The skin usually changes color (becoming either darker or red).
If diagnosed early, the disease is treatable with a combination of antibiotics.
Leprosy is spread from one person to another (and sometimes from animal to person).
Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease. Transmission is primarily through respiratory droplets. Contact with armadillos in Florida, some of which are naturally infected by leprosy-causing bacteria, maybe another way people can get sick.
You CANNOT get leprosy from casual contact with a person who has Hansen’s disease (you cannot get it through shaking hands or hugging or sitting next to someone with the disease).
On Tuesday — CDC researchers published a case report of leprosy cases in Florida. The report states —
“Leprosy has been historically uncommon in the United States; incidence peaked around 1983, and a drastic reduction in the annual number of documented cases occurred from the 1980s through 2000… he number of reported cases has more than doubled in the southeastern states over the last decade. According to the National Hansen’s Disease Program, 159 new cases were reported in the United States in 2020; Florida was among the top reporting states…
In summary, our case adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that central Florida represents an endemic location for leprosy. Travel to this area, even in the absence of other risk factors, should prompt consideration of leprosy in the appropriate clinical context.”
📝 NOTE — endemic means that the disease rates are predictable. And disease prevention is needed to prevent an epidemic/outbreak of disease (where there are more cases than we would predict).
CDC has NOT issued a travel advisory as a result of the report.
What does all of this mean?
This is news; there were 159 new cases of leprosy in the USA in 2020.
This is news; NOT a call to action nor the noise of an alarm.
This is fascinating and yet another disease the public health community needs to track. But this does NOT mean you should cancel your trip to Florida or fear flying through an airport in Florida.
This is knowledge.
There is NO need to fear leprosy.
It is important to note that the disease is still around.
And that it is spreading in the United States. But there were only 159 cases in one year (compare to 400,000 deaths from COVID between March 2020-January 2021 or 1.8 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2020).
There is NO NEED to press the panic button.
Questions?
Be sure to share this with your friends & family —