A Florida man’s unexplained case of leprosy last year adds to mounting evidence that the rare and often misunderstood bacterial infection has become endemic to the central part of the Sunshine State—and that it may, in fact, lurk in the environment there, possibly in the soil.
In a research letter appearing in the August issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, three dermatologists detailed the man’s case and their concerns for local transmission.
They note that the 54-year-old man, like several others in the state who contracted the disease, reported no established risk factors that might explain their infection.
He hadn’t traveled abroad, where he could have picked up the infection, or had any exposure to armadillos, which live in Florida and naturally carry the bacteria that cause leprosy. He also didn’t have any prolonged contact with people from leprosy-endemic countries or connections to anyone known to have leprosy.
But he did spend a lot of time outdoors; he worked as a landscaper. In fact, many of the recent Florida cases lacked traditional risk factors but reported spending a lot of time outdoors. The similarity “supports the investigation into environmental reservoirs as a potential source of transmission,” the doctors wrote.
In an interview with the Sun Sentinel, the authors speculated further that the man could have picked up the infection through contact with contaminated soil. The infectious earth could have been seeded with leprosy-causing bacteria from armadillos that commonly live in the area. Soil samples from India, where leprosy is endemic, have previously been found harboring leprosy bacteria, they noted.
“Could it be in the soil in Central Florida? We don’t know,” Charles Dunn, a dermatologist and co-author of the study, told the Sentinel. “It is one of the interesting factors to consider in the thought process. We are hoping the scientific community leans into our report.”
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