Scientists reveal cause of one of the most devastating pandemics in human history-
An international team of scientists has discovered that two of the world’s most devastating plagues – the plague of Justinian and the Black Death, each responsible for killing as many as half the people in Europe—were caused by distinct strains of the same pathogen, one that faded out on its own, the other leading to worldwide spread and re-emergence in the late 1800s.
These findings suggest a new strain of plague could emerge again in humans in the future.
“The research is both fascinating and perplexing, it generates new questions which need to be explored, for example why did this pandemic, which killed somewhere between 50 and 100 million people die out?” questions Hendrik Poinar, associate professor and director of the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre and an investigator with the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research.
The findings are dramatic because little has been known about the origins or cause of the Justinian Plague– which helped bring an end to the Roman Empire – and its relationship to the Black Death, some 800 years later.
Scientists hope this could lead to a better understanding of the dynamics of modern infectious disease, including a form of the plague that still kills thousands every year.
The Plague of Justinian struck in the sixth century and is estimated to have killed between 30 and 50 million people — virtually half the world’s population as it spread across Asia, North Africa, Arabia and Europe. The Black Death would strike some 800 years later with similar force, killing 50 million Europeans between just 1347 and 1351 alone.
Using sophisticated methods, researchers from many universities including McMaster University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Sydney, isolated minuscule DNA fragments from the 1500-year-old teeth of two victims of the Justinian plague, buried in Bavaria, Germany. These are the oldest pathogen genomes obtained to date.
Protecting the plague from us
Should scientists working with samples of the plague be worried about getting sick? Not at all, says biology grad student Jennifer Klunk. In fact, the real worry is scientists contaminating samples of the pathogen with their own DNA - hence the special garb Klunk wears in the lab.
- See more at: Daily News
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