Squirrels may have given medieval Britons leprosy

Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in human history and is still present in Asia, Africa, and South America.

There are more than 200,000 new cases reported every year.

It’s not known exactly how it spreads between people but prolonged, close contact with someone untreated, over many months, is needed to catch the disease.

“The history of leprosy is far more complex than previously thought,” said senior author of the study, Prof Verena Schünemann of the University of Basel in Switzerland.

“There has been no consideration of the role that animals might have played in the transmission and spread of the disease in the past, and as such, our understanding of leprosy’s history is incomplete until these hosts are considered.”

Dr Stephen Walker, Associate Professor at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: “There’s no doubt that in certain circumstances animals do appear to play a role, but the size of that role in global terms of leprosy hasn’t been delineated and I would agree, does need more work.

“I think it highlights that we still have a lot of work to do to understand the transmission of this ancient disease better, in our efforts to try and reduce the impact globally.”

The study is published in the journal, Current Biology, external.