A European origin for leprosy?
The largest study to date on ancient leprosy DNA reveals previously unknown diversity of strains in Medieval Europe
Date:
May 10, 2018
Source:
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Summary:
New research by an international team has revealed that there was much more diversity in the leprosy strains circulating in Medieval Europe than previously thought. This finding, based on the sequencing of 10 new ancient genomes from the leprosy-causing bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, complicates prior assumptions about the origin and spread of the disease, and also includes the oldest M. leprae genome sequenced to date, from about 400 AD in the United Kingdom.
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FULL STORY
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180510150208.htm
