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

Monday, July 7, 2025 - 16:46 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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