02928nas a2200817   4500000000100000008004100001260006300042653003100105653001600136653002700152653001700179100001500196700001300211700001400224700001200238700001800250700001800268700001700286700001500303700001400318700001400332700002200346700001600368700001500384700001300399700001300412700001200425700001600437700001200453700001200465700001400477700001400491700002000505700002000525700002100545700001900566700002400585700001400609700001500623700001500638700001000653700001400663700001400677700001200691700001800703700001600721700001500737700001400752700001500766700002100781700001300802700001500815700001900830700002400849700002000873700002100893700002300914700001400937700001600951700002100967700001500988700001301003700001301016700001601029700001501045245007701060856005601137300000901193520088301202022002502085       2025                            d  bAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)10aMycobacterium lepromatosis10aAncient DNA10aRegion of the Americas10aPhylogenetic1 aLopopolo M1 aAvanzi C1 aDuchene S1 aLuisi P1 ade Flamingh A1 aPonce-Soto GY1 aTressieres G1 aNeumeyer S1 aLemoine F1 aNelson EA1 aIraeta-Orbegozo M1 aCybulski JS1 aMitchell J1 aMarks VT1 aAdams LB1 aLindo J1 aDeGiorgio M1 aOrtiz N1 aWiens C1 aHiebert J1 aBonifaz A1 aMontes de Oca G1 aParedes-Solis V1 aFranco-Paredes C1 aVera-Cabrera L1 aPereira Brunelli JG1 aJackson M1 aSpencer JS1 aSalgado CG1 aHan X1 aPearce CM1 aWarren AK1 aRosa PS1 ade Finardi AJ1 aBelone ADFF1 aFerreira C1 aSuffys PN1 aFontes ANB1 aVasconcellos SEG1 aSchaub R1 aCouppié P1 aDrak Alsibai K1 aHernández-Castro R1 aSilva Miranda M1 aEstrada-Garcia I1 aJurado-Santacruz F1 aOrlando L1 aSchroeder H1 aQuintana-Murci L1 aDel Papa M1 aLahiri R1 aMalhi RS1 aRasmussen S1 aRascovan N00aPre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence  uhttps://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu7144  a1-163 a<p>Leprosy, primarily caused by Mycobacterium leprae , is considered a disease introduced into the Americas during European colonization. However, the recent discovery of a second pathogen causing leprosy, M. lepromatosis , mainly found in the Americas, challenges this view. Here, we show that M. lepromatosis 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 M. lepromatosis , with one dominating North America since colonial times. The presence of millennia-old strains in North and South America indicates M. lepromatosis may have been widespread during the Late Holocene, demonstrating M. lepromatosis leprosy has a long-standing history in the Americas before European arrival.</p>
  a0036-8075, 1095-9203