Rare form of leprosy infected people in Americas before European arrival, 4,000-year-old bones suggest

Friday, July 11, 2025 - 01:30 in Paleontology & Archaeology

Roughly 4,000-year-old bones from Chile contain genetic evidence of leprosy, suggesting that a rare form of the bacteria that causes the disease may have been circulating in the Americas and long before the Europeans arrived.

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