Cases of Leprosy Are on the Rise—and Their Presentation May Surprise You

While a rise in leprosy cases in Florida is concerning enough, providers and public health officials there are especially alarmed because so many cases are occurring in patients with less-than-traditional risk factors and in patients born in the United States. According to a post by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both those factors “contribute to rising evidence that leprosy has become endemic in the southeastern United States.” Consequently, the CDC advises providers to consider travel history that includes Florida when conducting contract tracing in affected patients, regardless of their place of residence. The number of reported leprosy cases has more than doubled in the southeastern United States over the past decade.