Christian Urban, Alette A Blom, Charlotte Avanzi, Kathleen Walker-Meikle, Alaine K Warren, Katie White-Iribhogbe, Ross Turle, Phil Marter, Heidi Dawson-Hobbis, Simon Roffey, Sarah A Inskip, Verena J Schuenemann
Leprosy, one of the oldest recorded diseases in human history, remains prevalent in Asia, Africa, and South America, with over 200,000 cases every year.1 , 2 Although ancient DNA (aDNA) approaches on the major causative agent, Mycobacterium leprae, have elucidated the disease's evolutionary history,3 , 4 , 5 the role of animal hosts and interspecies transmission in the past remains unexplored. Research has uncovered relationships between medieval strains isolated from archaeological human remains and modern animal hosts such as the red squirrel in England...
April 30, 2024: Current Biology: CB