British Red Squirrels (S. vulgaris) With Leprosy Develop Skeletal Lesions
Name
Interdisciplinary_Perspectives_on_Infectious_Diseases_-_2026_-_Elliott_-_British_Red_Squirrels__S__vulgaris__With_Leprosy.pdf
Description
visibility:open
Size
4.26 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (CRC64NVME)
iDFROOzbaTM=
Resource type
Journal article
Date published
January 2026
Abstract
Leprosy, caused by or has been reported in red squirrels in Britain from Scotland to the south of England. However, there has been no attempt to determine whether lesions caused by leprosy can be detected in the skeletons of infected animals. Here, we present findings from three red squirrel skeletons ( L., 1758) that had soft tissue lesions consistent with leprosy and were positive for . Three of six red squirrel specimens from Scotland that previously tested positive for were subjected to macro†and microscopic skeletal analyses. Erosive lesions, remodelling and porosity were found in multiple parts of the skeleton, including the podials, tarsals, distal tibiae, distal forelimbs and in the nasal bones. Additionally, porous lesions were found in the caudal vertebrae. These skeletal changes advance our knowledge of how this disease manifests in nonhuman mammals. Overall, these findings demonstrate that, despite the squirrel’s significantly shorter lifespan and different metabolism, comparable patterns of skeletal lesions are observed in humans and red squirrels with leprosy.
Contributor (person)
Sharma, Divakar
Funder
| Funder name | Awards |
University of Leicester | |
Journal title
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
1687-708X
eISSN
1687-7098
Date accepted
February 4, 2026
Official URL
Rights statement
In Copyright
Additional information
Full-text available via the official URL