Geographically dispersed zoonotic tuberculosis in pre-contact South American human populations

Tuberculosis (TB) in humans and other mammals is caused by species belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. One such species, Mycobacterium pinnipedii, causes TB mostly in pinnipeds, today. However, ancient DNA research has shown that this species caused TB in ancient human populations living in the coastal areas of Peru, before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. In this study, M. pinnipedii genomes were recovered from ancient human populations living in inland regions in South America (Peru and Colombia), prior to the arrival of Europeans. The presence of M. pinnipedii infection in these individuals despite their lack of direct contact with infected pinnipeds or their remains suggests a complex route of human-to-human and/or animal-mediated dissemination of M. pinnipedii in ancient South America.