Ron DeSantis Under Pressure Over Florida Leprosy Cases

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is under pressure amid a rising number of leprosy cases in the state, following a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that suggested that the infectious disease may have become endemic in the local population.

Earlier in July, the federal agency reported that in 2020 central Florida had been responsible for nearly a fifth of all cases in the U.S., with around 34 percent of cases found to have been acquired locally.

Many social media users expressed outrage at a widely reported claim that the CDC had issued a travel advisory for the state, and criticized the state government for allowing the disease to spread.

The report actually stated: "Travel to this area, even in the absence of other risk factors, should prompt consideration of leprosy in the appropriate clinical context," cautioning medical practitioners to consider the ancient disease when symptoms appear consistent with it.

It comes after DeSantis' administration was subject to criticism from medical professionals for leaving two key positions in the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of Epidemiology vacant amid a growing number of malaria cases. The bureau is tasked with monitoring communicable illnesses.

Leprosy, or Hansen's Disease, is caused by a bacterial infection but can easily be treated with a course of antibiotics. Symptoms include discolored patches of skin, growths on the skin and ulcers on the feet.

Epidemiologists are not entirely sure how infections occur, but respiratory droplets from person to person are thought to be the main route of transmission, as well as possible transmission from armadillos in the southern U.S. However, an estimated 95 percent of the population are not susceptible to the disease.

The federal Health Resources & Services Administration says that there were 159 new reported cases across the U.S. in 2020, with Florida among the six states with a large proportion of those cases. The CDC report found that the number of cases reported in southeastern states had "more than doubled" in the last decade.

It also said that "although the incidence of leprosy has been increasing, the rates of new diagnoses in persons born outside of the United States has been declining since 2002," suggesting that "leprosy has become an endemic disease process in Florida."

Newsweek approached the Florida Department of Health via email for comment on Wednesday.

The report noted one case of a 54-year-old man from central Florida—where 81 percent of the state's cases were located—who had presented with leprosy symptoms, despite denying any foreign or domestic travel, exposure to armadillos or prolonged contact with an infected person or someone from a country where the disease is prevalent.

"The CDC has issued a travel advisory in Florida due to LEPROSY," one Twitter user wrote in reaction to the headlines about the report. "The Biblical jokes write themselves for Ron DeSantis."

"Maybe Ron DeSantis should focus on that instead of Mickey Mouse and drag queens," said another.

"What happens when you have a governor who rejects science," a different user tweeted, adding: "Leprosy. Good job, Ron DeSantis."

Meanwhile, another wrote sarcastically: "Leprosy AND malaria? Awesome!"

Newsweek approached DeSantis' office via email for comment on Wednesday.

A CDC spokesperson told Forbes magazine that it had not released a travel advisory for Florida, and while it published the journal the report had featured in, the authors of such reports were "often not affiliated" with the agency.

The Florida Department of Health has placed alerts on three counties within the state for malaria, after recording two new cases at the end of June—marking the first time in two decades that the disease has been locally acquired in the U.S., as opposed to being linked to international travel.

The cases brought the total number in Florida to have been contracted within the U.S. this year to six.

At the same time, NBC News reported that Florida's Bureau of Epidemiology had been without a chief since June—following the departure of Clayton Weiss—and an administrator for its disease surveillance program since March.