Mycobacterium leprae diversity and population dynamics in medieval Europe from novel ancient genomes Saskia Pfrengle, Judith Neukamm, Meriam Guellil, Marcel Keller, Martyna Molak, et al. BMC Biology, 2021 BackgroundHansen’s disease (leprosy), widespread in medieval Europe, is today mainly prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions with around 200,000 new cases reported annually. Despite its long history and appearance in historical records, its origins and past dissemination patterns are still widely unknown. Applying ancient DNA approaches to its major causative agent,Mycobacterium leprae, can significantly improve our understanding of the disease’s complex history. Previous studies have identified a high genetic continuity of the pathogen over the last 1500 years and the existence of at least fourM. lepraelineages in some parts of Europe since the Early Medieval period.ResultsHere, we reconstructed 19 ancientM. lepraegenomes to further investigateM. leprae’sgenetic variation in Europe, with a dedicated focus on bacterial genomes from previously unstudied regions (Belarus, Iberia, Russia, Scotland), from multiple sites in a single region (Cambridgeshire, England), and from two Iberian leprosaria. Overall, our data confirm the existence of similar phylogeographic patterns across Europe, including high diversity in leprosaria. Further, we identified a new genotype in Belarus. By doubling the number of complete ancientM. lepraegenomes, our results improve our knowledge of the past phylogeography ofM. lepraeand reveal a particularly highM. lepraediversity in European medieval leprosaria.ConclusionsOur findings allow us to detect similar patterns of strain diversity across Europe with branch 3 as the most common branch and the leprosaria as centers for high diversity. The higher resolution of our phylogeny tree also refined our understanding of the interspecies transfer between red squirrels and humans pointing to a late antique/early medieval transmission. Furthermore, with our new estimates on the past population diversity ofM. leprae, we gained first insights into the disease’s global history in relation to major historic events such as the Roman expansion or the beginning of the regular transatlantic long distance trade. In summary, our findings highlight how studying ancientM. lepraegenomes worldwide improves our understanding of leprosy’s global history and can contribute to current models ofM. leprae’s worldwide dissemination, including interspecies transmissions.
Congenital syphilis or mercury treatment: Dental alterations in a twelfth-or thirteenth-century child from medinaceli, soria, spain Susana Gómez-González, Consuelo Roca de Togores Muñoz, Laura González-Garrido Homo, 2020 Syphilis, together with its variant congenital syphilis, is a disease caused by Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum. This paper documents possible new skeletal evidence for congenital syphilis from the Medieval Era (twelfth and thirteenth centuries CE) burial site of Medinaceli in the Province of Soria in North-Central Spain. What is involved is dental alteration due to congenital syphilis, mercury treatment, or a combination of both. This study focuses on the hypoplastic dental changes observed in a child approximately eight years of age. Only a fragmented skull with left maxilla and the left side of the mandible were preserved. Macroscopic analysis, X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) and mercury detection analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques were used to observe dental abnormalities. In addition to extensive caries in the upper second deciduous molar, pulpo-alveolar lesions and facial alterations were observed. The absence of the rest of the skeleton tends to make a diagnosis of congenital syphilis difficult. However, the dental stigmata observed do permit a reasonable diagnosis.
