Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence

Leprosy, caused primarily by <i>Mycobacterium leprae</i>, is considered a disease introduced into the Americas during European colonization. However, the recent discovery of a second pathogen causing leprosy, <i>M. lepromatosis</i>, mainly found in the Americas, challenges this view. Here, we show that <i>M. lepromatosis</i> infected humans in the Americas before European contact. By screening 389 ancient and 408 contemporary samples, we have expanded the genetic data available for the species. Phylogenetic analyses revealed distinct human-infecting clades of <i>M. lepromatosis</i>, with one dominating North America since colonial times. The presence of millennia-old strains in North and South America indicates that <i>M. lepromatosis</i> may have been widespread during the Late Holocene, demonstrating that <i>M. lepromatosis</i> leprosy has a long-standing history in the Americas before European arrival.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2025-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adu7144
Citations
8
Primary Topic
Leprosy Research and Treatment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
11.17

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence

Miren Iraeta-Orbegozo, Ramanuj Lahiri, Elizabeth A. Nelson, Lluís Quintana‐Murci et al.
8 citations
Science
Leprosy Research and Treatment
11.17
article

Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence

Miren Iraeta-Orbegozo, Ramanuj Lahiri, Elizabeth A. Nelson, Lluís Quintana‐Murci, Joycelynn Mitchell, Roxane Schaub, Nicolás Rascovan, Cláudio Guedes Salgado, Pierre Couppié, Amanda Nogueira Brum Fontes, José Guillermo Pereira Brunelli, Mayra Silva‐Miranda, Ludovic Orlando, Xiang Y. Han, Patrícia Sammarco Rosa, Michael DeGiorgio, Charlotte Avanzi, Alexandro Bonifáz, Rigoberto Hernández‐Castro, John S. Spencer, Ripan S. Malhi, Philip Noël Suffys, Jerome S. Cybulski, Kinan Drak Alsibai, Cynthia de Oliveira Ferreira, Sebastián Duchêne, Mary Jackson, Gaétan Tressières, Camron Pearce, Carlos Franco‐Paredes, Linda B. Adams, Amanda Juliane Finardi, Lucio Vera‐Cabrera, Pierre Luisi, Iris Estrada‐García, Nicolás Ortiz, Fermín Jurado‐Santa Cruz, Simon Rasmussen, Hannes Schroeder, Mariano C. Del Papa, Vilma T. Marks, Maria Lopopolo, Andrea de Faria Fernandes Belone, Gabriel Yaxal Ponce‐Soto, Alida de Flamingh, Frédéric Lemoine, John Lindo, Carlos Wiens, Sidra Ezídio Gonçalves Vasconcellos, Griselda Montes de, Alaine K. Warren, Juri Hiebert, Vanessa Paredes-Solis, Sarah Neumeyer
article en
8 citations

Abstract

Leprosy, caused primarily by <i>Mycobacterium leprae</i>, is considered a disease introduced into the Americas during European colonization. However, the recent discovery of a second pathogen causing leprosy, <i>M. lepromatosis</i>, mainly found in the Americas, challenges this view. Here, we show that <i>M. lepromatosis</i> infected humans in the Americas before European contact. By screening 389 ancient and 408 contemporary samples, we have expanded the genetic data available for the species. Phylogenetic analyses revealed distinct human-infecting clades of <i>M. lepromatosis</i>, with one dominating North America since colonial times. The presence of millennia-old strains in North and South America indicates that <i>M. lepromatosis</i> may have been widespread during the Late Holocene, demonstrating that <i>M. lepromatosis</i> leprosy has a long-standing history in the Americas before European arrival.

ScienceVol. 389(6758)
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (TZ), University of Copenhagen (DK), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), Emory University (US), Inserm (FR), Institut Pasteur (FR), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (AR), Collège de France (FR), Université Paris Cité (FR), Health Resources and Services Administration (US), University of French Guiana (GF), Novo Nordisk Foundation (DK), Hospital General de México (MX), Assembly of First Nations (CA), Secretaria de Salud (MX), Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez (MX), Universidad de Morelia (MX), Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias (MX), Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima (BR), Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez (MX), Centre Hospitalier Andrée Rosemon (GF), Guyra Paraguay (PY), Hospital Universitario Dr José Eleuterio Gonzalez (MX), Dermatology Foundation (US), Dynamique du noyau (FR), National Hansen's Disease Program (US), Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (BR), Fundação Hospitalar de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Amazonas (BR), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX), Universidade Federal do Pará (BR), Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia (MX), Universidade Federal do Amazonas (BR), Florida Atlantic University (US), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (AR), Colorado State University (US)
Infrastructures en Biologie Santé et Agronomie, Agence Nationale de la Recherche
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Leprosy Research and Treatment
11.17
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.