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Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-california-cases-home-grown-leprosy-threat.html
June 29, 2023
Editors' notes
California cases show home-grown leprosy is still a threat
by Amy Norton
Leprosy is an ancient infectious disease, but it has not been banished to the past, or from the United States.
That's the key takeaway from a new report describing six cases of leprosy among California residents. All were diagnosed between 2017 and 2022, and all were U.S.-born—that is, not hailing from a country where leprosy remains relatively common.
It's not clear where or how the patients contracted leprosy—a disease that, without treatment, can cause complications like paralysis, blindness and disfigurement.
But the disease remains rare in the United States, and experts stressed that the average person should not add it to their list of things to worry about.
"There's no reason to be alarmed," said Dr. Brandon Adler, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
He and his colleagues describe the six cases in a letter published in the June 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
According to co-author Dr. Maria Ochoa, the point is to get leprosy on doctors' radar, as few in the United States—and many other countries—would have ever seen a case.
"We just want to raise awareness," said Ochoa, a clinical professor of dermatology at USC...
June 29, 2023
Editors' notes
California cases show home-grown leprosy is still a threat
by Amy Norton
Leprosy is an ancient infectious disease, but it has not been banished to the past, or from the United States.
That's the key takeaway from a new report describing six cases of leprosy among California residents. All were diagnosed between 2017 and 2022, and all were U.S.-born—that is, not hailing from a country where leprosy remains relatively common.
It's not clear where or how the patients contracted leprosy—a disease that, without treatment, can cause complications like paralysis, blindness and disfigurement.
But the disease remains rare in the United States, and experts stressed that the average person should not add it to their list of things to worry about.
"There's no reason to be alarmed," said Dr. Brandon Adler, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
He and his colleagues describe the six cases in a letter published in the June 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
According to co-author Dr. Maria Ochoa, the point is to get leprosy on doctors' radar, as few in the United States—and many other countries—would have ever seen a case.
"We just want to raise awareness," said Ochoa, a clinical professor of dermatology at USC...