Here’s an odd story from last week’s i paper:
“Red squirrels in the UK and Ireland carry strains of leprosy similar to those that have afflicted disability and disfigurement on humans for centuries, a study has shown.
Experts stress the chances of catching the disease from a squirrel are extremely low.
Scientists tested DNA samples from 25 red squirrels on Brownsea Island, Dorset, and found every one was infected with a strain of leprosy bacteria similar to that recovered from the skeleton of a leprosy victim buried 730 years ago in Winchester – just 43 miles away.
Other red squirrels from Scotland Ireland and the Isle of Wight were carrying another kind of leprosy bacteria closely related to a virulent form of human leprosy endemic in Mexico and the Caribbean.”
I had no idea leprosy existed in the Americas. The bacteria is a very slow growing so long exposure to it seems to be required to contract it.
what about jersey?
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I just quoted the article. I know nothing more. Seems likely it Wd. be there also
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How strange. I knew that there had been problems in the red squirrel population with leprosy, but the link with a 730 yr old human death from the disease is extraordinary. And what to make of the link between leprosy in S Ireland and the Isle of Wight (seems odd for a start that they should be linked) and Central America?
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Oh ugh.
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yes but it shows our ancestors must have been in close contact with them for the disease to have spread. Except for perhaps zookeepers, it’s unlikely anyone will catch the disease.
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