Did red squirrels spread leprosy in medieval England?
→ Оригинал (без защиты от корпорастов) | Изображения из статьи: [1] [2]
![[1]](image.php?loc=UK&i=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F1b7dd398-b1ab-4855-985c-d15166bf4907.jpg?crop=4439%2C2497%2C428%2C426&resize=1200){kind=link}
![[2]](image.php?loc=UK&i=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F5bff006d-b726-45d5-927f-23fe83bee148.jpg?crop=3420%2C2719%2C0%2C0){kind=link}
We haven't been able to take payment You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription. Act now to keep your subscription We've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription. Your subscription is due to terminate We've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account, otherwise your subscription will terminate. Saturday May 25 2024 With its tufty ears and russet fur, the red squirrel has a special place in the nation's affections. But a Swiss study has revealed that it once played a darker role — as a carrier of leprosy in the Middle Ages. The research, which analysed squirrel bones in Winchester in the tenth century and 11th century, is thought to mark the first time that an animal has been identified as carrying the disease during the medieval period. Squirrel bones were found in a waste pit in Winchester ALETTE BLOM/UNIVERSITY OF BASEL/PA Verena Schuenemann, of the University of Basel, who led the study, said: "With our genetic analysis we were able to identify red squirrels as the first [known] ancient animal host of leprosy. "Our results point to an independent circulation of Mycobacterium leprae [a bacterium that causes the disease]