THE FIRST-CENTURY JERUSALEM SHROUD figures in a story on TB and leprosy. The occupant of the shroud, you may recall, had both. I saw the headline some time ago, but only just realized that the Jerusalem shroud body figured in it.

TB 'may have killed off leprosy' (BBC)

Human remains dating from the 1st Century AD suggest tuberculosis (TB) may have killed off leprosy in Europe.

Scientists at University College London have been examining a shrouded body recently discovered in a sealed chamber in Israel.

The bones reveal the man was infected with both TB and leprosy.

[...]

The argument goes that those who caught both died of TB, and thus the formerly common disease leprosy became much rarer.

Incidentally, this recent Guardian review covers a book on leprosy, describing the medical condition and putting the disease into a historical context.

And perhaps it's worth mentioning that the fictional character Thomas Covenant has in the last generation given millions of readers of numerous languages a sympathethic understanding of Hansen's syndrome and the plight of its victims. (And yes, The Runes of the Earth is as good as the first six books in the series, if you like that sort of epic fantasy - which I do. Go Linden, go!)