In a groundbreaking study, researchers have discovered that red squirrels in medieval England served as an important host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in people. This finding sheds light on the long-term zoonotic potential of the disease and highlights the importance of involving archaeological material, including animal remains, in studying the history of zoonotic diseases.
The study, published in Current Biology, analyzed 25 human and 12 squirrel samples from two archaeological sites in Winchester, a city known for its leprosarium and connections to the fur trade during the Middle Ages. The researchers sequenced and reconstructed four genomes representing medieval strains of M. leprae, including one from a red squirrel.