What a horrible disease. There is no vaccine for it yet. Leprosy is caused by a bacteria. It is treatable and if caught early, cured. Countries like India, Bangladesh, Brazil and Indonesia still account for half of all new cases each year. Here in the US, the armadillo is a known carrier of the bacteria.
In 2020, there were 15 countries reporting more than 1,000 new cases of leprosy. These were Bangladesh, Brazil, DR Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
https://www.leprosymission.org.uk/about/faqs/
According to this chart from the WHO, there were 159 cases in the US in 2020
https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A1639?lang=en
A lot of the cases still seem to pop up in African countries still. I'm guessing lack of access to medical care, sanitation and being food insecure may also be a factor. It is spread through respiratory droplets of sneezing and coughing. According to the CDC, leprosy is hard to catch and only those with a compromised immune system or malnourished are susceptible as 95% of adults can fight off the bacteria.
https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/world-le...day/index.html