FLORIDA – Florida saw an uptick in reported leprosy cases in 2025 and has continued to record new infections in 2026, according to the National Hansen’s Disease Program.
Florida recorded 36 confirmed cases of Hansen’s disease, also called leprosy, in 2025, according to Florida Department of Health figures reported by state and regional news outlets. State data cited in local reporting showed 27 of those 36 cases were acquired in Florida rather than abroad.
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Through mid‑July 2026, Florida had reported 17 cases for the year, according to state health figures cited in local news coverage. Those counts are provisional and reflect cases reported to the Florida Department of Health as of the dates noted in the reports.
Public-health and university investigators say the increase has been concentrated in parts of Central Florida. The University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute said Brevard County accounted for 40 of the state’s 74 confirmed cases from 2019 through 2022 — far outpacing other counties in that period — and singled out counties along the Interstate 4 corridor for additional attention.
Florida Department of Health data reported in July 2026 listed cases across a range of counties, including Brevard, Charlotte, Duval, Highlands, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Miami‑Dade, Okeechobee, Orange, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia. Local reporting noted that some cases were acquired outside Florida or outside the United States.
Scientists have long known that the nine‑banded armadillo can carry Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes Hansen’s disease. A 2011 genomic study found armadillos and many patients in the southern United States harbored essentially identical strains of the bacterium, supporting probable zoonotic transmission in some cases. A 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report and subsequent university investigations documented rising numbers of locally acquired infections in central Florida and a growing share of patients with no travel to leprosy‑endemic countries.
Health officials emphasize that leprosy remains rare and that the overall risk to the general public is low. The disease most commonly spreads after prolonged, close contact with an untreated person; zoonotic transmission from armadillos is considered a recognized but uncommon route. Most people — roughly 95% — are naturally resistant to infection, federal health information notes.
Leprosy is curable. Standard multidrug therapy prevents disability and makes patients noninfectious soon after treatment begins. Public-health guidance advises people to avoid handling, skinning or eating armadillos; to wear gloves and wash exposed skin if contact is unavoidable; and to tell health care providers about any armadillo exposure when seeking care for persistent skin lesions, numbness or other symptoms suggestive of Hansen’s disease.
Officials said improving clinician awareness is critical because the disease can take years or even decades to show symptoms and is often misdiagnosed, delaying treatment that prevents nerve damage.