Nine-banded armadillos are a common sight across the southern US.
You’ll find them digging in flower beds and underneath your porch. Sometimes, unfortunately, they unsuccessfully attempt to cross a busy road.
They are, for the most part, harmless. But experts say the adorable armored creatures may be the culprit behind a rising number of cases of an ancient disease.
Armadillos are prevalent across the southern US, but their territory is expanding north. Alizada Studios – stock.adobe.com
Well, “ancient” is only partly true — leprosy, aka Hansen’s Disease, is a 4,000-year-old illness, but it infects as many as 200,000 around the world today.
In the US, there are several hundred cases a year and numbers are climbing. Florida has some of the highest rates of infection in the country, with 17 so far this year.
Cases have been steadily climbing here, too: Florida had just eight cases in 2022, 23 in 2023, 20 in 2024 and 26 last year. Central Florida appears to be a hot spot, with 40 of the 74 cases reported from 2019 to 2022 (55%) located in Brevard County, WJXT4 reports.
What is leprosy?
This disease is caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It grows slowly, so it could take someone up to 20 years to develop symptoms after the initial infection.
The bacteria affects the skin and nerves. People may develop thick areas of skin and ulcers and lose eyebrow hairs or eyelashes. It causes numbness and paralysis, particularly in the hands and feet, and can also lead to blindness.
The shunning of people with the disease (as you might read in the Bible, where leprosy appears 68 times) is an outdated but pervasive association.
Leprosy does not easily spread between people. Around 95% of people have a natural immunity to it, and it requires prolonged exposure to spread.
Also, it is very curable. People who contract it will get a regimen of antibiotics, and they’re no longer contagious after the first dose.
Leprosy, which affects the skin and nerves, is curable but can cause lasting nerve damage. jokekung – stock.adobe.com
Why is Florida a leprosy hot spot?
Armadillos are natural carriers of the bacteria that causes Hansen’s Disease.
They’re prevalent across southern states like Texas and Louisiana, but have been moving north for a few hundred years. Some experts believe they’ve moved as far north as Massachusetts.
They love warm, wet climates and dig in soil to get their meals, often bugs and snails. The animals are also often in their burrows resting and raising their young.
Scientists believe the Mycobacterium leprae bacteria transfers from the dirt to humans, who might be handling that soil to garden or care for their home.
“Where the armadillo eats, lives and reproduces, everything could affect the chance of a human being exposed to leprosy. That’s because the bacteria that causes leprosy can remain for a while in the soil,” said Juan Manuel Campos Krauer, an assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Symptoms of leprosy could take up to 20 years to appear. WavebreakMediaMicro – stock.adobe.com
How to protect yourself
Most people in the US get infected in another country where leprosy is more common, including Brazil, India and Indonesia, according to the CDC. These countries report more than 10,000 new cases a year.
It’s important to note that Hansen’s Disease is still very rare in the US, with at most 250 cases a year.
Still, don’t touch armadillos. And if you’re working in the soil, experts recommend wearing gloves and being conscious of contamination.
There’s also the question of roadkill. Several experts have raised the possibility that bacteria spreads when an armadillo dies on the road.
One doctor in Mississippi told Science he’d recommend washing the car if you hit one.