Biological Evidence of Leprosy

Leprosy likely originated in the Greco-Roman world through trade links with Inda.  The earliest evidence of leprosy in India dates to the 2nd millennium BC.  The earliest evidence of Leprosy in a Roman province is at Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt [[Leprosy at Dakhleh Oasis]] dating to the 3rd century B.C. Skeletal and aDNA analysis of a skeleton of a 4-5 year old child from 2nd/3rd century A.D. Italy, and an adult individual from 4th - 5th century A.D. Italy , an adult individual dating to the 2nd - 4th century A.D. from the Greek Island of Kos confirm the presence of scattered cases of leprosy in the Mediterranean region. However, most of the skeletal evidence from this region dates to the 6th to 8th centuries