orlando, florida – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, central Florida accounts for 81% of Florida’s reported leprosy cases and nearly one-fifth of all nationally reported leprosy cases.
recently Published research letter On the CDC website, the authors suggest that central Florida is “an epidemic of leprosy.”
Leprosy, Hansen’s diseaseAccording to Florida Health, it is an infection that primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves.
[TRENDING: Florida Turnpike reopens in Lake County after crash shut down southbound lanes | FDLE plane tracked traveling to New Hampshire airport, as DeSantis campaigned nearby | Become a News 6 Insider]
According to the report, in some cases in Central Florida, there was no clear evidence of exposure to zoonotic diseases caused by bacteria spread between animals and humans, or traditionally known risk factors. It has not been.
The CDC reports that leprosy is historically rare in the United States, with incidence peaking around 1983. From the 1980s to the 2000s, there was a significant decline in the number of recorded annual cases, but reports indicate a gradual increase in the incidence of leprosy. disease.
Over the past decade, the number of reported cases has more than doubled in the southeastern states. According to the CDC, 159 new cases of her were reported in the United States in 2020, with Florida topping the list.
“Leprosy in the United States has historically affected people who migrated from leprosy-endemic areas, but approximately 34% [approximately equal to] Of the newly infected patients between 2015 and 2020, there was one who was believed to have had the disease locally,” the CDC report said in part. “Several cases in central Florida show no clear evidence of zoonotic exposure or traditionally known risk factors.”
Transmission of leprosy is not fully understood, but prolonged person-to-person contact via droplets is the most widely recognized route of transmission, according to the CDC.
To read the full CDC report, follow these steps: click here.
Get today’s headlines in minutes Your Florida Daily:
WKMG ClickOrlando Copyright 2023 – All rights reserved.
