Florida residents are reportedly being urged to stay away from armadillos as they are being blamed for the unusual number of leprosy cases across the state.
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To date in 2015, Florida has seen 12 leprosy cases, compared to the entirety of 2014, which saw 10 cases. The most recent diagnosis for leprosy came in Flagler County three weeks ago.
Florida health officials have pointed to armadillos as the source of the bacterial disease. Up until 1975, an average of four cases were reported each year, with 80-percent of the 226 cases occurring in persons residing in Monroe, Dade and Hillsborough Counties at the time of onset.
A 2011 genetic study found that armadillos naturally harbor the bacteria that causes the illness in humans, and they may be responsible for some infections, though it is far less common for leprosy to be spread that way.
While it’s possible for you to get the disease from an armadillo, the risk is low.
Leprosy is hard to detect because the infection can lay dormant for 5 to 20 years. The most of the human population isn’t susceptible to the disease, and fewer than 300 new cases were reported in the U.S.in 2010. While armadillos carry the disease are rare, experts are still advising people to avoid contact with the animals, WKMG Orlando notes.
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But the CDC reports that as many as 2 million people have been permanently disabled by the disease worldwide.
