A disease often associated with Biblical times is making a comeback in the U.S. thanks to millions of illegal immigrants — often the poorest of the poor — flooding across our borders.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are more than 200 new cases of leprosy in the U.S. every year due to the flood of illegals, The Hill reported.

According to the CDC, there are between 100 and 200 new cases of leprosy reported in the U.S. every year. A study just released from the Keck Medical Center at the University of Southern California looked at 187 leprosy patients treated at its clinic from 1973 to 2018 and found that most were Latino, originating from Mexico, where the disease is somewhat more common, and that there was on average a three-year delay in diagnosis, during which time the side effects of the disease — usually irreversible, even with treatment — began to occur.

Leprosy is still more prevalent in Central America and South America, with more than 20,000 new cases per year. Given that, there is certainly the possibility of sporadic cases of leprosy continuing to be brought across our southern border undetected.

“I also believe that homeless areas are at risk for the reemergence of another deadly ancient disease — leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease. Leprosy involves a mycobacteria (tuberculosis is another mycobacteria) that is very difficult to transmit and very easy to treat with a cocktail of three antibiotics,” NYU Langone Health Dr. Marc Siegel said in his editorial.

Doctors, though, fear that with the numbers of the poorest, most unschooled, and sickly illegals washing across our border, cases of leprosy will grow in inner city neighborhoods such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Lost Angeles is currently the most susceptible, The Hill reported.

And it seems only a matter of time before leprosy could take hold among the homeless population in an area such as Los Angeles County, with close to 60,000 homeless people and 75 percent of those lacking even temporary shelter or adequate hygiene and medical treatment. All of those factors make a perfect cauldron for a contagious disease that is transmitted by nasal droplets and respiratory secretions with close repeated contact.

“I am much more concerned about the permanent disabilities that come with leprosy — given that 2 to 3 million people are affected worldwide — than I am with the associated stigma. Nevertheless, leprosy appearing among the homeless in L.A. is a sure recipe for instant public panic,” Siegel added.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.