British red squirrels are infected with two different strains of the bacterium that causes leprosy, according to a study.
Leprosy was thought to have died out in the UK in medieval times, but these recent discoveries confirm that red squirrels carry the disease.
Despite this, researchers are keen to stress that the squirrel infection poses little, if any, threat to humans.
The research is published in the journal, Science.
In 2014 scientists studying red squirrel populations in Scotland noticed that some of the animals had abnormal growths on their ears, snout and limbs.
"We found that they were suffering from a form of leprosy," Prof Anna Meredith from the University of Edinburgh told the BBC's Science in Action.
The red squirrel is an endangered species found across Eurasia.
UK populations are especially under threat due to habitat loss, as well as through direct competition and the deadly effects of squirrel poxvirus following the -read more
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