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Leprosy is a disease that can have serious consequences. A case in Florida has now caused a stir. The pathogens are therefore also active in the USA.
ORLANDO – A 54-year-old man from central Florida has been diagnosed with leprosy. How and where he could have been infected still raises many questions for doctors. Because although around 200,000 people are infected with the disease worldwide every year, this case has an unusual component.
Florida man catches leprosy despite never leaving the country
What is special about the case is that the man is very likely to have been infected in the USA be done. According to his own statements, the patient has never left the state of Florida. The leprosy hotspots tend to be in other regions of the world. Most cases list that World Health Organization (WHO) according to India and Brazil.
Leprosy therefore played only a minor role for infectiologists in the USA for a long time. When cases were registered in the USA, they were usually brought with them through travel or migration or through contact with armadillos. The animals are also believed to be carriers of the bacterium responsible for the disease Mycobacterium leprae.
Leprosy is spreading in Florida – contagions therefore also take place locally
But the case in Florida paints a different picture. On the one hand, there is apparently an increase in cases in the region – on the other hand, more and more people seem to have caught the disease locally. Rajiv Nathoo, the dermatologist who came to the diagnosis of leprosy in the 54-year-old, shares his experience with other colleagues in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases published.
In which Article he states that it is likely that about 34 percent of new leprosy infections in central Florida between 2015 and 2020 had none of the usual risk factors. So they may have happened in Florida. This is an indication that the disease is now endemic in Florida and the pathogens are circulating locally.
Leprosy appears to have become endemic in Florida
Leprosy is therefore transmitted in Florida from person to person or person to animal – and not imported from leprosy areas. About one-fifth of all leprosy cases in the US affect the state of Florida, according to Nathoo.
In the case of the 54-year-old, however, it has still not been finally clarified how he contracted the disease. According to him, he had neither had contact with a person suffering from leprosy nor with people who were in a risk area. He also denied any contact with armadillos.
Man with leprosy in Florida has had rashes on his hands and feet for years
The man had had a painful rash on his hands and feet for several years. At some point, the face was also affected. A so-called “lion’s face”, which is caused by tissue growth, is typical of the disease, like that medical journal explains that also about reported the case. Finally, the man went to Rajiv Nathoo’s practice in Orlando, who diagnosed him with the disease.
The man was started on antibiotic therapy, it said Center for Diesel Control and Prevention (CDC). Such treatment usually lasts between one and two years. If taken correctly, the chances of recovery are very good.
In Germany, the infectious disease leprosy plays no role
In Germany, leprosy is very rare and plays no role for medical professionals. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the last illness in this country was reported in 2019, probably due to a trip to a risk area. Another skin disease, on the other hand, is also on the rise in Germany: scabies. You should also pay attention to chronic itching – it can have serious causes.
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