leprosy – News Stories About leprosy - Page 1

Our Narrative
About Leprosy
Just Changed

new study

May 6, 2024 9:25 AM CDT

Our Narrative About Leprosy Just Changed

Medieval squirrels had it, suggesting a possible new origin

(Newser) - Scientists have long believed that leprosy originated with humans, but a medieval squirrel suggests a different possibility. Researchers examined the bones of red squirrels from an ancient furrier, along with the bones of leprosy victims who lived at about the same time in the UK roughly 900 years ago, reports...

Florida's Newest Woe: Leprosy

CDC says Central Florida accounts for nearly 20% of cases nationwide

(Newser) - Florida is contending with invasive species , spiking insurance rates , worrisome warming waters , political tensions , and now ... leprosy? That's according to the CDC, who on Monday issued a release spelling out how the infectious condition, also known as Hansen's disease, has taken hold in the Sunshine State, especially the...

2 California Kids
Likely Have Leprosy

Sep 11, 2016 4:16 PM CDT

2 California Kids Likely Have Leprosy

It's not clear where they got it

(Newser) - You might think of leprosy as a Biblical-era disease, but it's still around—now known as Hansen's disease—and two schoolchildren in California's Riverside County likely have it. As LiveScience reports, Hansen's disease is rare in the US, with just 100 to 200 cases reported in...

Fla. Warns That Armadillos Are Spreading Leprosy

Florida Warning: Armadillos Are Spreading Leprosy

Jul 22, 2015 2:24 AM CDT

Florida Warning: Armadillos Are Spreading Leprosy

Playing with wild animals is a bad idea, state experts say

(Newser) - A spike in cases of one of history's most feared diseases has been blamed on a less-than-terrifying animal: the armadillo. Florida has seen nine leprosy cases so far this year, compared to as few as two in a typical year, and health officials believe the increase in cases has...

To Avoid Leprosy, Stop
Playing With Armadillos

Apr 27, 2011 6:39 PM CDT

To Avoid Leprosy, Stop Playing With Armadillos

Wild ones can transmit disease to humans

(Newser) - Weird health advice of the day: Too much direct contact with armadillos—as in handling or eating them—can cause leprosy. Scientists for the first time have concluded that the animals can spread the disease to humans, reports the Los Angeles Times . The finding helps explain how some of the...

What Life Is Like for
China's 20K Lepers

Jan 2, 2011 6:15 PM CST

What Life Is Like for China's 20K Lepers

Survivors inhabit 600 isolated, if relatively normal, colonies

(Newser) - It may seem unbelievable, but 20,000 Chinese citizens live in isolated colonies for people who suffer an ancient, debilitating disease: leprosy. More than 600 state-run colonies exist throughout China, usually separated from society by nature—the government took care to build them on islands, mountaintops, or generally inaccessible locations....

Pope Canonizes Father Damien

Oct 11, 2009 2:44 PM CDT

Pope Canonizes Father Damien

Belgian missionary, four others elevated to sainthood

(Newser) - Father Damien, the Belgian missionary who ministered to leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai before contracting and dying of the disease, was canonized today. The 19th-century priest, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and three others were elevated to sainthood in a ceremony that drew...

Vatican to
Canonize
Priest Who
Aided Lepers

Feb 21, 2009 2:16 PM CST

Vatican to Canonize Priest Who Aided Lepers

(Newser) - A 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii will be declared a saint October 11, the AP reports. In July, Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Rev. Damien de Veuster's intercession, declaring that a Honolulu woman's recovery in 1999 from terminal lung cancer was the...