287. Two Early Cases of Leprosy in Great Britain

Mycobacterium leprae genotype amplified from an archaeological case of lepromatous leprosy in Central Asia

“…Early cases with pathognomonic maxillo-facial signs are known from Egypt (2nd century BC, Dzierzykray-Rogalski, 1980; and 4th century AD, Molto, 2002), and from Europe (5th-7th centuries AD -e.g. Brothwell, 1961;Møller-Christensen and Hughes, 1962;Manchester, 1981;Blondiaux et al, 1994;Duhig, 1998;Brothwell et al, 2000). Several 4th century AD Egyptian cases (Molto, 2002) have been studied by aDNA analyses and the presence of the pathogen has been confirmed (Donoghue et al, 2005).…”

“…The skeleton is incomplete but the skull, long bones of the left arm and left leg, the left pelvis, the sacrum and the right femur are preserved. The skull shows evidence of facies leprosa as described by Møller-Christensen (1961) and an erosive lesion, accompanied by raised woven bone, is present on the left tibia. Diagnoses other than leprosy, considered at the time of the original report, included fungal infections, actinomycosis, the craniofacial tuberculosis of lupus vulgaris and treponemal disease.…”

“…There may also be pitting and/or perforation of the hard palate and destruction of the premaxillary alveolar process, sometimes leading to loss of the upper incisor teeth. The skeletal lesions identified with LL were first described in depth by Møller-Christensen (Møller-Christensen, 1961;Bennike, 2002).…”

Paleomicrobiology

“…The typical osteopathology of leprosy was first described by Moller-Christensen (1961) in his superb analysis of the osseous remains from a leper cemetery in Naestved, Denmark. Moller-Christensen described the typical alterations of the maxilla / nasal aperture and the small bones of the hands and feet (Moller-Christensen 1974).…”

Positive Diagnosis of Ancient Leprosy and Tuberculosis Using Ancient DNA and Lipid Biomarkers

“…In lepromatous leprosy there is a strong humeral response that is ineffective, associated with high numbers of M. leprae bacilli. The resulting palaeopathology is typified by gross changes to the rhino-maxillary area including pitting or perforation in the palate and resorption of the anterior nasal spine [7]. There are inflammatory changes to the ends of the long bones plus the bones in the hands and feet due to chronic infection from skin ulcers.…”