Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been accompanying mankind for at least 70 thousand. years – scientists announced in the pages of the journal Nature Genetics.
An international group of scientists, led by Sebastien Gagneux from the Swiss Tropical Public Health Institute, identified the place and time of the onset of the disease. Based on the sequenced genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, researchers found that it appeared at least 70. years ago in Africa.
According to the researchers, a comparative analysis of the genomes of mycobacterium and human allows us to assume that they evolved in a close relationship, lasting tens of thousands of years. Mycobacteria of tuberculosis emigrated from Africa along with humans (about 60 years ago) and spread all over the world. Human migrations created excellent conditions for the expansion of the disease and an increase in the diversity of mycobacteria.
In the Neolithic age, as a result of the development of agriculture, the way of life of people changed. Settlements began and lived in larger groups. This intensification of people-to-people contacts may also have contributed to the spread of tuberculosis.
Recent research shows that tuberculosis does not come from domestic animals. “The reason is simple – Mycobacteria tuberculosis appeared long before humans started domesticating animals,” explains Gagneux.
1-2 million people die from tuberculosis each year, mainly in developing countries. If the disease is not treated, the survival rate is only 50% (PAP)
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