2023-08-08 21:10:00
MIAMI.- Given the alarm raised by a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that shows to Florida as one of the states with the most cases of leprosy reported in the United States, DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS asked experts, with the purpose of providing recommendations to our community.
Dr. Melgar considers that, above all, the increase in leprosy cases in central Florida has generated an alarm for travelers.
“I think it has to do with an influx of migrants who are not treated in their countries and arrive here with a series of illnesses without receiving medical attention either,” he declared exclusively to this newspaper and emphasized that the fact that Florida is It has been identified as one of the states that has reported the most leprosy at the national level, it is something “very novel”, in view of which, “the most important thing is early detection and the search for medical assistance”.
According to the CDC report, Central Florida accounts for 81% of the reported cases in the state, which is equivalent to almost a fifth of the cases nationwide. Furthermore, several of the cases in central Florida do not demonstrate clear evidence of zoonotic exposure or traditionally known risk factors.
Available information has led experts to suggest that leprosy may have become endemic in Florida, underscoring the need for further investigation into other possible methods of indigenous transmission.
Along these lines, Dr. Dadilia Garcés, an epidemiologist, explained that leprosy is an endemic disease in certain countries such as India, but, she maintained, “despite the fact that it is endemic in certain countries, the contagion rate is very low, only 5% of the people who are in constant contact”.
He specified that, therefore, at this time the risk is very low in general for the population, but, he warned, “it is important to take it into account, especially so that doctors can diagnose it, since the disease is not very common here in United States and also for the people who are in this area, consider it and consult your doctor, since the incubation period can be from nine months to 20 years and that is why it is so important”.
How leprosy behaves
Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by the acid-fast bacillus Mycobacterium leprae and mainly affects the skin and peripheral nervous system, the course of which largely depends on individual susceptibility to M. leprae.
Historically, leprosy has been rare in the United States, peaking around 1983, followed by a drastic reduction in the annual number of documented cases from the 1980s to 2000.
However, the transmission of leprosy has not yet been fully elucidated, and the most recognized route is prolonged person-to-person contact via respiratory droplets.
According to Dr. Melgar, it is a disease caused by a bacterium that affects the peripheral nervous system and the skin. “It is characterized by loss of sensation in the hands and feet, and then lesions appear on the skin that are like nodules and give that unpleasant appearance. It is transmitted by close and prolonged contact with the sick person. Not by occasional contact with, for example, personal objects”.
If not treated properly, he warned, it can progress to paralysis, blindness or bone loss.
However, leprosy can be fought. “Various antibiotics are used, and at one point transmission stops,” Melgar said. Dr. Garcés agrees on this, who indicated that hand washing is extremely important if you have been in contact with patients, in order to cut off circulation and the chain of transmission.
Also, as with any other disease, but particularly in the face of leprosy, he called for avoiding the stigmatization of patients. “The most important thing is that leprosy patients should not be stigmatized and they should not be discriminated against. If they present the disease and start treatment on time, they are not contagious and can continue with their activities as normal, ”he emphasized.
Relevant data from the CDC report on leprosy
The report also puts into context a troubling rise in the incidence of leprosy in the United States over the past decade. Reported cases of the disease have more than doubled in the southeastern states of the country in that period. In 2020, 159 new cases of leprosy were reported in the United States, and Florida was one of the states with the highest number of reports, according to the CDC.
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