CDC Has NOT Issued Any Travel Advisory For Any State, Due To Leprosy, Because Leprosy Had Been On A Downward Trend
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There has been so much hyped report in the media regarding leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in state of Florida, some even indicated that leprosy is endemic in Florida and yet the CDC has not issued any travel advisory for state of Florida, or any other state, due to Hansen’s disease (aka leprosy). This naturally raised my curiosity. Upon further investigation, this is what I’ve discovered about the actual trend of leprosy (aka Hansen’s disease) presented by National Hansen’s Disease Program of United States between Year 2011 – 2020, below:
The 159 cases of reported Hansens’s Disease (aka leprosy) reported by National Hansen’s Disease Program in the graph above signifies a downward trend in number of reported cases of leprosy in USA in 2020. According to the CDC Research Letter (Volume 29, Number 8-August 2023, in italics), despite drastic reduction in the annual number of documented cases of leprosy occurred from the 1980s through 2000 and National Hansen’s Disease Program indicated dramatic reduction in number of reported Hansen’s Disease cases in 2020, since then (2000) there has been a gradual increase in the incidence of leprosy in the United States, with more than doubled in the southeastern states over the last decade.
My question is: exactly how many cases of Hansen’s Disease (aka leprosy) have been reported between 2000 and 2010 and in 20222, and 2023 in Florida and Central Florida if the data from National Hansen’s Disease Program indicates a downward trend between 2011 and 2020, and FLHealthCharts only have data on Hansen’s Disease up to 2021. This is what I’ve found, below:
So the overall data between 1985 to 2020 indicates the downward trend in number of reported Hansen’s Disease cases in USA. Of the 159 reported Hansen’s Disease cases in 2020, 69% of these 159 cases (110 cases) were reported in these states, listed below:
- Florida
- California
- Louisiana
- Hawaii
- New York
- Oregon
- Texas
Of the 159 cases of reported Hansens’s Disease in USA, 27 cases were reported to be diagnosed in Florida, in 2020. In 2021, 13 cases were reported in Florida. In 2022, Florida Department of Health only reported 8 new cases of Hansen’s Disease. Since beginning of 2023, Florida has reported 16 cases of Hansen’s Disease between January and July, nearly half of them in Brevard and Volusia counties along the Atlantic coast.
“Leprosy was once feared as a highly contagious and devastating disease, but now we know it doesn’t spread easily and treatment is very effective” with a combination of antibiotics, according to the CDC website. “However, if left untreated, the nerve damage can result in crippling of hands and feet, paralysis, and blindness.”
“Prolonged person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets is the most widely recognized route of transmission,” the Emerging Infectious Diseases article says, noting “there is some support for the theory that international migration of persons with leprosy is a potential source” of transmission.
The Centers for Disease Control has published a new report for the State of Florida after a rise in cases of leprosy, in the video published on Aug 1, 2023, by News4JAX The Local Station, as “CDC issues warning in Florida due to rising cases of leprosy“, below:
For more details, signs and symptoms, cause, risk factors, transmission, mechanism, and diagnosis of leprosy, please click HERE.
Leprosy is a chronic, infectious disease that can lead to skin lesions and nerve damage – but doctors say it is treatable. FOX 2 Detroit is working for you and delivers breaking news, live events, investigations, politics, entertainment, business news and local stories from Detroit, Michigan, and across the nation, in the video published on Aug 2, 2023, by FOX 2 Detroit, as “Corewell Health doctor weighs in on why leprosy is coming back in Florida“, below:
For more details, signs and symptoms, cause, risk factors, transmission, mechanism, and diagnosis of leprosy, please click HERE.
For more information regarding Hansen’s Disease, please refer to National Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Program Caring and Curing Since 1894 website, please click HERE.
An excerpt from CDC website regarding Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy), in italics, below:
CDC has not issued a travel advisory for Florida, or any other state, due to Hansen’s disease (leprosy).
Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, is very rare in the United States, with less than 200 cases reported per year. Most people with Hansen’s disease in the U.S. became infected in a country where it is more common. In the past, leprosy was feared as a highly contagious, devastating disease, but now we know that it’s hard to spread and it’s easily treatable.
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- Hansen’s disease does not spread easily from person to person. You cannot get leprosy through casual contact such as shaking hands, sitting next to, or talking to someone who has the disease.
- Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated Hansen’s disease over many months is needed to become infected. Around 95% of all people cannot become sick because they are naturally immune.
- Leprosy can be cured with antibiotic treatment. Once someone starts treatment for Hansen’s disease, they can no longer spread the disease to other people.
CDC and the National Hansen’s Disease Program (NHDP) are continuously monitoring for exposures of all reported cases.
For FAQ at Florida Department of Health on the subject of Hansen’s Disease (aka leprosy), please click HERE.
For information about Hansen’s Disease provided by CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, please click HERE.
For National Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Program Caring and Curing Since 1894, please click HERE.
For FloridaHealthCharts on Hansens’s Disease (Leprosy), please click HERE.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
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