New study reveals leprosy existed in the Americas before European explorers arrived

Scientists say a species of bacteria rewrites the history of when an infectious and potentially deadly syndrome first arrived in the Americas And it was long before the arrival of European explorers Researchers from the Institut Pasteur in Paris France with help from a U S university in recent weeks broadcasted in a news release that a second species of bacteria is also responsible for the sickness known as leprosy or Hansen's sickness in the Americas In years past a multitude of assumed that the bacterium known as Mycobacterium leprae caused leprosy and that it was only spread in America by early European explorers and settlers However the revelation of a second bacterium puts that theory of blaming the settlers on its head as an existing strain was already on the continents calling the New World home FIRST KNOWN DEVELOPMENT OF RARE MPOX STRAIN RATIFIED IN UNITED STATESThe bacterium Mycobacterium lepromatosis existed and infected humans for years prior to Europeans arriving researchers say Dr Maria Lopopolo the first author of the investigation and researcher at the Laboratory of Microbial Paleogenomics at the Institut Pasteur noted it changes everything about leprosy in the Americas This discovery transforms our understanding of the history of leprosy in America It shows that a form of the complaint was already endemic among Indigenous populations well before the Europeans arrived she explained in the release POTENTIALLY DEADLY ZOONOTIC VIRUS ASCERTAINED IN THE US SPARKING CONCERNS OF SPREAD TO HUMANSThe survey led by scientists from the Laboratory of Microbial Paleogenomics at the Institut Pasteur alongside the French National Center for Scientific Research and the University of Colorado in the U S began after Mycobacterium lepromatosis was unveiled in a Mexican case in and red squirrels in the British Isles in Using advanced genetic techniques to reconstruct the genomes of Mycobacterium lepromatosis from ancient individuals from Argentina and Canada scientists uncovered that the two strains from the different regions were genetically close in the Mycobacterium genome family tree meaning that the bacteria spread rapidly throughout the continent The release stated that the results verified that Mycobacterium lepromatosis had already spread throughout North and South America Researchers worked in collaboration with indigenous communities various international institutions and archaeologists according to the release and were able to examination over DNA samples from ancient human remains and latest physiological cases showing signs of leprosy Nicol s Rascovan the lead author of the analysis at the Institut Pasteur announced that the research proves that human history can be changed We are just beginning to uncover the diversity and global movements of this lately identified pathogen he reported This survey allows us to hypothesize that there might be unknown animal reservoirs CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe Centers for Condition Control and Prevention CDC says leprosy can affect the nerves skin and eyes of patients and is treated with antibiotics Up to people in the U S and around the world contract Hansen's malady according to the CDC