A new study reveals that leprosy existed in America before European explorers arrived

Scientists say that a kind of bacteria rewrites the story of when it first came an infectious and potentially fatal disease in the Americas. And it was long before the arrival of European explorers.

Researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, with the help of a North -American University, recently announced in a statement that a second species of bacteria is also responsible for the disease known as leprosy, or Hansen’s disease in the Americas.

In recent years, many believed that the bacterium known as a Mycobacterium leprae It caused the leprosy and only spread to America by the first European explorers and settlers.

However, the revelation of a second bacterium puts this theory of blaming the settlers on their heads, as an existing tension was already on the continents who shouted the New World House.

First known case of rare strainish -confirmed strain in the United States

The bacterium Mycobacterium lepromatosis According to researchers, humans existed and infected for 1,000 years before Europeans arrived.

Dr. Maria Lopopolo, the first author of the study and researcher at the Microbial Paleogenomic Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute, said he changes everything about leprosy in the Americas.

“This discovery transforms our understanding of the history of leprosy in America. It shows that a form of disease was already endemic among indigenous populations before Europeans arrived,” he said in the statement.

The potentially fatal zoonotic virus found in the United States, causing concerns of propagation to humans

Scientists from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, next to the National Center for French Scientific Research and the University of Colorado, conducted the study. (Istock)

The study, led by scientists from the Microbial Paleogenomic Laboratory of the Pasteur Institute, next to the French National Center for Scientific Research and the University of Colorado in the United States. Mycobacterium lepromatosis He was found in a Mexican patient in 2008, and red squirrels in the British Isles in 2016.

Using advanced genetic techniques to rebuild the genomes of Mycobacterium lepromatosis From ancient individuals from Argentina and Canada, scientists found that the two strains of the different regions were genetically near the Mycobacterium Genealogical tree of the genome, which means that the bacteria spread rapidly throughout the continent.

The launch stated that the results confirmed it Mycobacterium lepromatosis He had already spread throughout North and South America.

Researchers were able to study more than 800 DNA samples of ancient human remains and recent medical cases showing signs of leprosy. (Istock)

Researchers worked in collaboration with indigenous communities, various international institutions and archeologists, according to the statement, and were able to study more than 800 DNA samples of ancient human remains and recent medical cases showing signs of leprosy.

Nicolás Rascovan, the main author of the Pasteur Institute’s study, said that research shows that human history can be changed.

“We just begin to discover the diversity and global movements of this recently identified pathogen,” he said. “This study allows us to hypothesize that there could be deposits of unknown animals.”

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Disease control and prevention centers (CDC) ensure that leprosy can affect the nerves, skin and eyes of patients and is treated with antibiotics. According to the CDC, up to 225 people in the United States and 250,000 worldwide against Hansen’s disease.

Nick Butler is Fox News Digital Reporter. Do you have any advice? Arrive at nick.butler@fox.com.