Despite being a deranged quack who makes Rand Paul look like Maimonides, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladopo this week managed to dispense some common sense advice to Sunshine Staters currently seeing a spike in leprosy cases, telling them that the flesh-eating disease of medieval suffering can be easily prevented by simply avoiding wild armadillos, WFTV reports.
The Florida Department of Health has confirmed 17 cases statewide so far in 2026, following an uptick in reported infections during 2025, with the armadillo advice actually based in scientific research identifying the small, scaly mammals as a known vector for the bacteria.