02146nas a2200421   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653001900058653001600077653002000093653001100113653001200124653002100136653002200157653001100179653001200190653002500202653003100227653004200258653001900300653002700319653002600346653001700372100001500389700001400404700001600418700001300434700001400447700001300461700001700474700001600491245016700507300001100674490000800685050001800693520099900711022001401710       2005                            d  c2005 Feb 2210aBone and Bones10aDNA Primers10aElectrophoresis10aEurope10aFossils10aHistory, Ancient10aHistory, Medieval10aHumans10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aMycobacterium tuberculosis10aNucleic Acid Amplification Techniques10aPaleopathology10aSequence Analysis, DNA10aSocioeconomic Factors10aTuberculosis1 aDonoghue H1 aMarcsik A1 aMatheson CD1 aVernon K1 aNuorala E1 aMolto JE1 aGreenblatt C1 aSpigelman M00aCo-infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae in human archaeological samples: a possible explanation for the historical decline of leprosy.  a389-940 v272  aDONOGHUE 20053 a<p>Both leprosy and tuberculosis were prevalent in Europe during the first millennium but thereafter leprosy declined. It is not known why this occurred, but one suggestion is that cross-immunity protected tuberculosis patients from leprosy. To investigate any relationship between the two diseases, selected archaeological samples, dating from the Roman period to the thirteenth century, were examined for both Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA, using PCR. The work was carried out and verified in geographically separate and independent laboratories. Several specimens with palaeopathological signs of leprosy were found to contain DNA from both pathogens, indicating that these diseases coexisted in the past. We suggest that the immunological changes found in multi-bacillary leprosy, in association with the socio-economic impact on those suffering from the disease, led to increased mortality from tuberculosis and therefore to the historical decline in leprosy.</p>  a0962-8452