Now You Can Also Worry About Leprosy

Now that election season is over, we can all go back to fretting about the economy—and now leprosy. Turns out the old school disease is still around in Texas, which reports about 15 new cases every year. The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department reports that a new case of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, was diagnosed this year, and a few other people are in treatment. “Typically we might see a case or two every couple of years,” a spokeswoman told The Austin American-Statesman. Among the symptoms are skin changes, skin lesions, and nosebleeds—and the disease should be caught early. If it’s not treated properly, “the attack on the nervous system is often irreversible,” the paper reports.