Armadillos likely behind Florida’s surge in leprosy cases. Here’s what you need to know - WKMG

What the report says

WKMG News 6/ClickOrlando reports that Florida recorded an increase in Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy, in 2025 and has continued to log new cases in 2026, citing the National Hansen’s Disease Program and state health figures referenced in local reporting. Florida had 36 confirmed cases in 2025, with 27 believed to have been acquired within the state. Through mid-July 2026, 17 cases had been reported, though those totals are provisional.

The reported cases include Central Florida counties such as Brevard, Lake, Orange, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia, along with other counties elsewhere in the state. WKMG, citing public-health and university investigators, said attention has focused on Central Florida and the Interstate 4 corridor. The University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute previously found Brevard County accounted for 40 of Florida’s 74 confirmed cases from 2019 through 2022.

The article points to nine-banded armadillos as a likely factor in some Florida infections. Scientists have established that the animals can carry Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes Hansen’s disease, and prior research has supported possible transmission between armadillos and people in the southern United States. Health officials still describe the illness as rare, with low risk to most residents; federal health information says most people are naturally resistant.

WKMG reports that Hansen’s disease is curable with multidrug therapy, and early treatment helps prevent nerve damage and disability. Public-health guidance cited in the report urges people not to handle, skin or eat armadillos, to use gloves and wash exposed skin if contact cannot be avoided, and to tell clinicians about possible exposure when seeking care for persistent skin changes, numbness or related symptoms.