In the Middle Ages, people could contract leprosy from red squirrels, and vice versa. Scientists analyzed human bones and squirrel bones from an archaeological site in Winchester, southern England, and found that both contained the same traces of the bacteria that causes leprosy. This refutes the claim that it is a purely human disease, but it is not yet known whether it was transmitted from humans to squirrels or vice versa.
There was no shortage of opportunities to infect each other, since warm clothes were often made from squirrel fur. In addition, many had them as pets; Women especially valued them.
The research focused on Winchester, which was once an important medieval city. Scientists analyzed DNA samples taken from the bones of three people who lived in Winchester between 900 and 600 years ago, as well as squirrel bones dating from 1,000 to 900 years ago, also found in the city. All samples contained very similar strains of the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, which causes leprosy.
Today squirrels no longer pose any danger
Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases in human history. Its symptoms affect the skin, mucous membranes, eyes, peripheral nervous system and respiratory tract. It is easily cured with antibiotics; however, significant symptoms do not appear until several years after infection, so early detection is not always easy.
Some modern red squirrels still carry the disease, but according to the BBC, there have been no cases of transmission between this species and ours in modern times in Britain, and the risk of infection is very low, according to the BBC.
Today, 95% of the world’s population is naturally immune to leprosy, but the disease has not been eradicated: 3 million people worldwide still suffer from it, especially in very poor regions of the Global South.
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