Ancient DNA Reveals Leprosy Was in America Centuries Before Columbus

Ancient DNA Reveals Leprosy Was in America Centuries Before Columbus

A new study reveals that leprosy existed in America long before the arrival of Europeans, shedding light on the history of a long-neglected pathogen. Long considered a disease brought to the Americas by European colonizers, leprosy may actually have a much older history on the American continent. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS, and [...]

New Research Reveals Leprosy Existed in the Americas Long Before European Arrival

[Un article de The Conversation écrit par Nicolas Rascovan – Chercheur à l”Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité – Charlotte Avanzi – Assistant Professor, Colorado State University – et Maria Lopopolo – Chercheur à l’Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité] Leper is an ancient chronic disease that manifests itself in lesions of the skin, peripheral nerves, the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract as well as the eyes. It is present in…

Leprosy existed in the Americas long before European contact, new study reveals

For centuries, it was the conventional narrative that leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, was introduced into the Americas by European colonists or enslaved Africans. But a groundbreaking new study published in Science is now overturning that assumption. According to an international team of researchers, a lesser-known bacterial species, Mycobacterium lepromatosis, existed across the Americas at least 1,000 years before European contact, re…