Ann Solomn, like many Floridians, loves gardening and sailing. About two years ago, she began to lose dexterity in her hands. She could no longer find comfortable shoes, no matter how many pairs she tried. In an unrelated visit to her dermatologist, her doctor asked about a strange collection of spots around her ankle. Her question would knock over a series of dominoes, leading Solomn down a path of patient advocacy and a condition wrought by misinformation.
Solomn had discolored, numb patches on her skin around her ankle. After multiple biopsies and zero results, her doctor recommended she go to a specialist group in the Jacksonville area. In this academic setting, Solomn, along with a group of patients categorized as “cold cases,” were seen by dozens of physicians in one day.
“I’m not kidding when I say there were between 60 and 70 dermatologists,” said Solomn. “They all came in groups and looked at my ankle. A doctor in the second group immediately went to the drawer and pulled out a feather-tipped tool for testing numbness. He said, ‘Yep, this is Hansen’s.’”
Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy, is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis. It is treatable and can be cured. In fact, 95% of the human population is not susceptible to infection by the bacteria. Not everyone who is infected will develop the clinical disease that results from chronic infection. For those who do, it can take years after initial exposure for signs and symptoms to appear, since the bacteria are slow-growing. It causes various skin abnormalities and can damage the peripheral nervous system.
The disease is named after the Norwegian physician who discovered the responsible bacterium in 1873, Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen. His discovery upended previous theories that had suggested heredity as the cause — the basis of centuries of harsh social stigma.
According to the United States Health Resources and Services Administration’s National Hansen’s Disease Program, 174 new U.S. cases were reported in 2025. Florida has one of the highest rates of locally acquired Hansen’s disease infection in the country, with one-fifth, or 36, of the 2025 cases originating in the Sunshine State — the highest on record. The nine-banded armadillo, whose natural habitat stretches across the state, is a reservoir for M. leprae and the main known contributor to transmission. Armadillos dig and burrow in the dirt, and many of those affected likely acquired the disease by gardening.
Transmission between humans is rare and requires extremely prolonged exposure to someone infected by the bacterium. Although this disease has existed for thousands of years, its elusive nature makes it tricky to study. Each day, researchers at University of Florida Health and the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute are working to better understand its transmission and who is at risk.
Within two weeks of diagnosis, Solomn was back with her dermatologist, but treatment there was not an option. After six attempted referrals to clinics in the state, she was able to schedule an appointment at the UF Health Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Clinic, where she was seen by Norman L. Beatty, M.D., and Kiran Motaparthi, M.D., who, together, run the clinic. Beatty was disappointed, but not surprised, to hear how Solomn’s dermatologist had been stumped by her numbness.
“He goes, ‘See?’ and he looks to all the students and fellows,” Solomn noted. “‘This is what we say. So much misinformation out there.’ He goes, ‘I’m so glad you’re here, Ann.’”
Beatty and Motaparthi pinpointed the bacterium behind Solomn’s diagnosis and laid out what came next: more than a year of intensive antibiotics and steroids. Beatty, an EPI member, is an associate professor of medicine in the UF College of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine; Motaparthi is a clinical professor of dermatology and the college’s Vice Chair of Education. Armed with prescriptions from the two, Solomn got her medication through the National Hansen’s Disease Program.
Confronting stigma, finding community
The emotional toll was a curveball Solomn had not expected. When confiding in friends, she received a startling reaction due to the stigma surrounding the disease.
“I had a very close friend go, ‘Hansen’s disease? Leprosy? I didn’t even know that still existed,’” said Solomn. “He jumps back and says, ‘That’s a biblical disease!’”
Beatty and the UF Health team introduced Solomn to two other Floridians with Hansen’s disease. Within a matter of weeks, they met regularly to share updates, express hardships and connect resources, when available.
“Right now, the support group is just the three of us,” Solomn said. “Sometimes we talk for hours about things we are going through and ways to solve them. They’re my people.”
Once a month, Solomn makes the two-hour drive from her home to Gainesville to meet with her care team. Although she is still in treatment, she continues to sail, travel, visit her family on their farm and watch her great-niece prepare for her horseback riding show.
“This is not a lifetime sentence of anything scary,” she said. “Remember: information calms fear, and you must find your people. Sometimes there’s this big cloud in my mind, like I’m just waiting for the storm to come, but the fact that I have my people, and I can always get a hold of Dr. Beatty or Dr. Modaparthi — that’s the key. If I can be that for someone who is getting that initial diagnosis, I’ve figured out how I fit into all of this.”
Written by: Sydney Burge