A Biblical Disease is Back with a Vengeance in Florida — Experts Warn which Animal is to Blame

Nine-banded armadillos are a common sight across the southern US. . .

They are, for the most part, harmless. But experts say the adorable armored creatures may be the culprit behind a rising number of cases of an ancient disease. . .

Well, “ancient” is only partly true — leprosy, aka Hansen’s Disease, is a 4,000-year-old illness, but it infects as many as 200,000 around the world today.

In the US, there are a few hundred cases a year and numbers are climbing. Florida has some of the highest rates of infection in the country, with 17 so far this year.

Cases have been steadily climbing here, too: Florida had just eight cases in 2022 but 23 in 2023, 20 in 2024 and 26 last year. Central Florida appears to be a hot spot, with 40 of the 74 cases reported from 2019 to 2022 (55%) located in Brevard County, WJXT4 reports. . .

This disease is caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It grows slowly, so it could take someone up to 20 years to develop symptoms after the initial infection. (Read more from “A Biblical Disease is Back with a Vengeance in Florida — Experts Warn which Animal is to Blame” HERE)