Armadillos believed to have caused LEPROSY in nine Florida patients

• Nine people in Florida diagnosed with leprosy since October
• All the cases believed to be from contact with armadillos
• The disease, more common in southern states, can incubate for ten years
• The latest person to be diagnosed occured three weeks ago

Leprosy cases in Florida are higher than normal and experts are blaming armadillos.

Nine cases have been reported across the state so far this year, already nearly matching the state's average of ten cases per year, according to the Department of Health.

Dr. Sunil Joshi, president of the Duval County Medical Society, says every case this year involved people who were in direct contact with armadillos.

Three people in Volusia County, Florida, have been diagnosed with leprosy and two cases are thought to be due to contact with nine-banded armadillos (file photo) +5
Leprosy causes skin lesions as well as nerve damage (file photo) +5
Diseased: Nine people in that state of Florida have been diagnosed with the skin disease leprosy (right). All the cases are thought to be due to contact with nine-banded armadillos (left) (file photos)

According to the Center for Disease Control, armadillos are the only animal to carry leprosy, a bacterial disease that affects the skin and nerves. The disease can be spread through saliva.

The most recent diagnosis for leprosy came in Flagler County three weeks ago.

Joshi says these occurrences are still very rare, but urged people to stay away from the animal.

The incubation period for the disease can run up to 10 years, so the armadillo exposure did not have to be recent, Dr. Paul Rehme of the Volusia County Health Department told WESH.

About 95 per cent of people have a natural immunity to the bacteria carried by the leather-shelled mammals.

Wild armadillos 'are a large natural reservoir for M. leprae,' a 2011 study in the New England Journal said of the animal's relationship to the microbe.

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WHY DO ARMADILLOS CARRY LEPROSY?

The leathery shelled mammals, which can be found in 10 states throughout the Southeastern U.S., are the only animals besides humans known to carry leprosy.

There have been several anecdotal reports of leprosy in humans who have handled, killed or eaten armadillos, or who may have been indirectly exposed by gardening in soil where the animals burrow.

Until recently, experts hadn't been able to confirm that armadillos could pass the disease to humans but now there is evidence to suggest otherwise.

Armadillos are now a reservoir for the disease, and in coastal marsh habitats where population densities of the animal can be high, 20 percent or more of the armadillos are thought to be infected with leprosy and capable of passing it on to susceptible people.

Of the 200 cases of leprosy diagnosed annually in the United States, most are thought to stem from contact with armadillos, although the precise route of transmission remains unclear.

Armadillos believed to have caused LEPROSY in nine Florida patients