title: Red squirrels in the British Isles are infected with leprosy bacilli.
abstract: Leprosy, caused by infection with Mycobacterium leprae or the recently discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis, was once endemic in humans in the British Isles. Red squirrels in Great Britain (Sciurus vulgaris) have increasingly been observed with leprosy-like lesions on the head and limbs. Using genomics, histopathology, and serology, we found M. lepromatosis in squirrels from England, Ireland, and Scotland, and M. leprae in squirrels from Brownsea Island, England. Infection was detected in overtly diseased and seemingly healthy animals. Phylogenetic comparisons of British and Irish M. lepromatosis with two Mexican strains from humans show that they diverged from a common ancestor around 27,000 years ago, whereas the M. leprae strain is closest to one that circulated in Medieval England. Red squirrels are thus a reservoir for leprosy in the British Isles.
authors.affiliation: Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Avanzi
authors.affiliation: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Del-Pozo
authors.affiliation: Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benjak
authors.affiliation: Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Veterinary Investigation Centre, Chacewater, Cornwall, UK.
authors.forename: Victor R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Busso
authors.affiliation: Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McLuckie
authors.affiliation: Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Chloé
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loiseau
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lawton
authors.affiliation: UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Janne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schoening
authors.affiliation: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Darren J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piton
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Interdisciplinario de Investigación Dermatológica, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vera-Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Interdisciplinario de Investigación Dermatológica, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico.
authors.forename: Jesùs S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Velarde-Felix
authors.affiliation: UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Fergal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.affiliation: UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.|UCD School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.|UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.|UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Stephen V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. stewart.cole@epfl.ch anna.meredith@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stewart T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Scotland, UK. stewart.cole@epfl.ch anna.meredith@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Anna L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Meredith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D000072417:Protein Domains; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000382:microbiology*; D051194:Toll-Like Receptor 1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D051194:Toll-Like Receptor 1