leprosy may have spread Between red squirrels and humans between the 10th and 11th centuries In Englandresearch suggests.
Proof Collected from two archaeological sites in the medieval city of winchester Turns out red squirrels may have been hosts in the past to Mycobacterium leprae – the bacteria that causes leprosy in people.
The researchers said that although there is evidence that the disease spread to humans through infected armadillos, this is the first time that scientists have found clues that indicate that leprosy spread between people and rodents in medieval England. Had been.
Strains of the leprosy bacteria have also been found in modern red squirrels, but the team said these rodents do not pose a threat to people in the UK.
Despite popular myths about leprosy spreading from person to person through physical contact, the infection is not highly contagious.
It is believed to spread mainly through coughing or sneezing.
Dr. Sarah Inskeep, a bioarchaeologist University of Leicestersaid: “Very few people are actually likely to contract leprosy these days and all you have to do is have prolonged contact with an infected animal.
“There aren’t very many of them left today (there are only 160,000 native red squirrels in Britain), so the chances are very low.”
Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases recorded in human history, affecting the nervous system and causing inflammation under the skin.
Although it is rare, the so-called Biblical disease still exists today and according to the World Health Organization, about 208,000 people worldwide suffer from leprosy, mostly in Asia and Africa.
Leprosy can be cured with the use of antibiotics, but if left untreated it can cause disfigurement, disability, and blindness.
For the study, published in the journal Current Biology, researchers analyzed 25 human and 12 squirrel bone samples collected from Winchester sites.
Genetic analysis showed that M. leprae was present in both human and squirrel samples, indicating that the infection was spreading among people and rodents in the Middle Ages.
Verena Schuenemann is Professor of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Basel Switzerlandstated that the recovered medieval red squirrel strain is more closely related to the medieval human strains from Winchester than to strains isolated from infected modern red squirrels.
They added: “Overall, our results point to an independent circulation of M. leprae strains between humans and red squirrels during the medieval period.”
Since Winchester was famous for its leprosy hospitals and ties to the fur trade, researchers speculated that transmission may have occurred this way.
Dr Inskip said: “We chose Winchester because the sites themselves contain squirrel bones.
“There are hand and foot bones (recovered from the sites) – which we see when people are processing squirrel skins.
“So this gives us an idea of how humans were interacting with the squirrels in that particular location.”
In the wake of COVID-19, animal hosts are now becoming the focus of attention to understand the presence and persistence of the disease
Dr. Sarah Inskip
Squirrel fur was widely used for trim and lining of clothing during medieval times.
Evidence shows that many people also trapped wild squirrels in the wild as kits and raised them as pets.
Dr Inskip said: “We have forgotten how much people would have interacted with squirrels in the past and how much they would have been part of people’s lives and historical sources highlight this very well.
“This is really important in changing people’s perception of leprosy from the idea that it is only a human disease.”
He added, “There is a long history of sharing diseases between humans and animals and they continue to have a major impact on us.
“In the wake of COVID-19, animal hosts are now becoming the focus of attention for understanding the presence and persistence of disease.”