Latest news with #leprosy
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- General
- Gizmodo
Leprosy's Origins Are Even Weirder Than We Thought
New research complicates the narrative of how leprosy reached the Americas. One of the world's oldest diseases has an even more complex history than expected. Research out today reveals that a form of leprosy was stalking people in the Americas long before Europeans arrived. A large international team of scientists conducted the study, published Thursday in Science. The researchers found DNA evidence of Mycobacterium lepromatosis—a recently discovered species of leprosy-causing bacteria—infecting people in North and South America over 1,000 years ago, predating European colonization. The findings upturn the prevailing belief that Europeans were responsible for leprosy's introduction to the New World. Leprosy's reputation for human destruction is so notorious that it's repeatedly referenced in the Bible (some of these references might have been about other conditions, though). These bacteria can cause a chronic infection of our skin and nerve cells, though it may take years for symptoms like lesions and sores to appear. If not treated with antibiotics, the infection can progressively and permanently damage these cells, leading to lifelong disabilities and other serious complications. Leprosy, also called Hansen's disease, is primarily caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria. But in 2008, scientists discovered that a similar species, M. lepromatosis, can cause it, too. Leprosy from M. lepromatosis appears to be rarer than the former, with cases predominantly found in North and South America. And we know very little about it, partly because both species aren't easy to culture in the lab (much like viruses, leprosy-causing bacteria can only replicate by hijacking our cells from the inside). Study author Nicolas Rascovan, who specializes in the evolution of human diseases, and his team decided to take a closer look at the bacteria after making a discovery of their own. 'Our interest began when we unexpectedly detected M. lepromatosis DNA in the remains of an ancient individual in North America,' Rascovan, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, told Gizmodo. 'That prompted us to ask how long this pathogen had been circulating in the continent, how much spread there was before European contact, and what diversity it might still hold today.' The team analyzed hundreds of samples collected from modern-day people (mostly recent leprosy patients), as well as ancient DNA samples recovered from people in the Americas before European contact. Three of these ancient samples tested positive for the bacteria, the researchers found, from people living in what's now Canada and Argentina. 'Leprosy has long been considered a disease brought to the Americas by Europeans, which is true for the case of M. leprae. But our study shows that at least one of the two species that causes it—M. lepromatosis—was already here centuries earlier, and probably evolved locally for thousands of years,' Rascovan explained. 'This essentially changes how we understand the disease's history in the Americas.' Thanks to antibiotics and improved sanitation, leprosy is rare in much of the world (only about 200 cases are documented in the U.S. every year). But it remains a public health issue in some countries, with more than 200,000 cases reported annually globally. And the researchers' findings may complicate both the past and future of leprosy. While most modern cases of M. lepromatosis were linked to one specific lineage, or clade, of the bacteria that has recently expanded, the team also identified older clades that have likely been evolving independently in the Americas for over 9,000 years. That suggests these bacteria have been hiding out in still mysterious animal hosts (in the U.S. the classic form of leprosy has sometimes been linked to armadillo exposure). And though M. leprae still causes the majority of leprosy cases worldwide, its less famous cousin certainly has the potential to become a bigger threat. 'Given its diversity and spread, M. lepromatosis could be an emerging pathogen with dynamics different from M. leprae,' Rascovan said. As is often the case in science, the team's work has raised even more questions for them to answer. They're hoping to unearth the animal reservoirs where the bacteria have potentially been circulating all this time, for instance, and to trace its journey from the Americas to other parts of the world. They now believe that a strain of M. lepromatosis was brought over to the British Isles sometime in the 19th century, where it still infects red squirrels today. But we're still in the dark about how it reached Asia, where cases have been documented. 'All of this suggests that this is not just a neglected disease, but a neglected pathogen—one whose history and spread are only now beginning to be understood,' Rascovan said.
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Novartis to keep making malaria drugs if orders dry up amid aid cuts
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.S), opens new tab will keep making medicines for malaria and leprosy, even if it does not get orders as normal amid the global health funding crunch, its president of global health told Reuters in an interview. The company makes 28 million malaria treatment courses every year, and sells almost all of them a not-for-profit price to countries and groups including the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a U.S.-government funded initiative that still has an unclear future given President Donald President Trump's vast international aid cuts, although it did receive an exemption for some work earlier this year because of its lifesaving potential. "We are not going to be the bottleneck," said Dr Lutz Hegemann in an interview. "We are not going to produce based on demand, because we know that these medicines are needed, and we need to be creative in finding ways to get them from the factory to patients." Earlier this year, an order was cancelled by a contractor for PMI when it got a stop-work order from the U.S. government, Hegemann said. But then within a month it got an exception and asked for work to begin again. "You cannot do that essentially in real-time. We remain committed to our volume," said Hegemann, adding that this also applied for leprosy, which it donates in smaller quantities through the World Health Organization. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is the biggest buyer of Novartis' antimalarials. It has not yet faced cuts but is fundraising now for its future work in a difficult climate. Speaking in London, Hegemann also urged the pharmaceutical sector to step up while governments, including the U.S., United Kingdom and France, pull back from aid funding, and particularly work more directly with governments that have traditionally been recipients of aid. "I think it would be a missed opportunity if we just tried to essentially plug the gap that donor country funding has created, and I think we need to move beyond that," he said, pointing to public-private partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and low and middle-income countries as a model. Hegemann also said Novartis is set to spend almost double what it pledged to by the end of 2025 on malaria and neglected tropical diseases research and development: $490m rather than its pledged $250m. Products in development include a dengue antiviral, new treatments for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, and the first malaria treatment for newborn babies.
Al Arabiya
12-05-2025
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Novartis to keep making malaria drug amid global funding crunch
Swiss drugmaker Novartis will keep making medicines for malaria and leprosy, even if it does not get orders as normal amid the global health funding crunch, its president of global health told Reuters in an interview. The company makes 28 million malaria treatment courses every year, and sells almost all of them a not-for-profit price to countries and groups including the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a US-government funded initiative that still has an unclear future given President Donald President Trump's vast international aid cuts, although it did receive an exemption for some work earlier this year because of its lifesaving potential. 'We are not going to be the bottleneck,' said Dr Lutz Hegemann in an interview. 'We are not going to produce based on demand, because we know that these medicines are needed, and we need to be creative in finding ways to get them from the factory to patients.' Earlier this year, an order was cancelled by a contractor for PMI when it got a stop-work order from the US government, Hegemann said. But then within a month it got an exception and asked for work to begin again. 'You cannot do that essentially in real-time. We remain committed to our volume,' said Hegemann, adding that this also applied for leprosy, which it donates in smaller quantities through the World Health Organization. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is the biggest buyer of Novartis' antimalarials. It has not yet faced cuts but is fundraising now for its future work in a difficult climate. Speaking in London, Hegemann also urged the pharmaceutical sector to step up while governments, including the US, United Kingdom and France, pull back from aid funding, and particularly work more directly with governments that have traditionally been recipients of aid. 'I think it would be a missed opportunity if we just tried to essentially plug the gap that donor country funding has created, and I think we need to move beyond that,' he said, pointing to public-private partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and low and middle-income countries as a model. Hegemann also said Novartis is set to spend almost double what it pledged to by the end of 2025 on malaria and neglected tropical diseases research and development: $490m rather than its pledged $250m. Products in development include a dengue antiviral, new treatments for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, and the first malaria treatment for newborn babies.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Novartis to keep making malaria drugs if orders dry up amid aid cuts
By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Novartis will keep making medicines for malaria and leprosy, even if it does not get orders as normal amid the global health funding crunch, its president of global health told Reuters in an interview. The company makes 28 million malaria treatment courses every year, and sells almost all of them a not-for-profit price to countries and groups including the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a U.S.-government funded initiative that still has an unclear future given President Donald President Trump's vast international aid cuts, although it did receive an exemption for some work earlier this year because of its lifesaving potential. "We are not going to be the bottleneck," said Dr Lutz Hegemann in an interview. "We are not going to produce based on demand, because we know that these medicines are needed, and we need to be creative in finding ways to get them from the factory to patients." Earlier this year, an order was cancelled by a contractor for PMI when it got a stop-work order from the U.S. government, Hegemann said. But then within a month it got an exception and asked for work to begin again. "You cannot do that essentially in real-time. We remain committed to our volume," said Hegemann, adding that this also applied for leprosy, which it donates in smaller quantities through the World Health Organization. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is the biggest buyer of Novartis' antimalarials. It has not yet faced cuts but is fundraising now for its future work in a difficult climate. Speaking in London, Hegemann also urged the pharmaceutical sector to step up while governments, including the U.S., United Kingdom and France, pull back from aid funding, and particularly work more directly with governments that have traditionally been recipients of aid. "I think it would be a missed opportunity if we just tried to essentially plug the gap that donor country funding has created, and I think we need to move beyond that," he said, pointing to public-private partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and low and middle-income countries as a model. Hegemann also said Novartis is set to spend almost double what it pledged to by the end of 2025 on malaria and neglected tropical diseases research and development: $490m rather than its pledged $250m. Products in development include a dengue antiviral, new treatments for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, and the first malaria treatment for newborn babies. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Novartis to keep making malaria drugs if orders dry up amid aid cuts
By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Novartis will keep making medicines for malaria and leprosy, even if it does not get orders as normal amid the global health funding crunch, its president of global health told Reuters in an interview. The company makes 28 million malaria treatment courses every year, and sells almost all of them a not-for-profit price to countries and groups including the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a U.S.-government funded initiative that still has an unclear future given President Donald President Trump's vast international aid cuts, although it did receive an exemption for some work earlier this year because of its lifesaving potential. "We are not going to be the bottleneck," said Dr Lutz Hegemann in an interview. "We are not going to produce based on demand, because we know that these medicines are needed, and we need to be creative in finding ways to get them from the factory to patients." Earlier this year, an order was cancelled by a contractor for PMI when it got a stop-work order from the U.S. government, Hegemann said. But then within a month it got an exception and asked for work to begin again. "You cannot do that essentially in real-time. We remain committed to our volume," said Hegemann, adding that this also applied for leprosy, which it donates in smaller quantities through the World Health Organization. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is the biggest buyer of Novartis' antimalarials. It has not yet faced cuts but is fundraising now for its future work in a difficult climate. Speaking in London, Hegemann also urged the pharmaceutical sector to step up while governments, including the U.S., United Kingdom and France, pull back from aid funding, and particularly work more directly with governments that have traditionally been recipients of aid. "I think it would be a missed opportunity if we just tried to essentially plug the gap that donor country funding has created, and I think we need to move beyond that," he said, pointing to public-private partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and low and middle-income countries as a model. Hegemann also said Novartis is set to spend almost double what it pledged to by the end of 2025 on malaria and neglected tropical diseases research and development: $490m rather than its pledged $250m. Products in development include a dengue antiviral, new treatments for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, and the first malaria treatment for newborn babies. Sign in to access your portfolio
