In the UK, during archaeological research, the skeletons of people who lived 4,000 years ago and probably died as a result of the infamous “Black Death” were discovered. At the same time, scientists were able to extract the DNA of a strain of plague bacteria from their teeth.
This is stated in a study published in the journal Nature Communications. The discovered strain of bacteria is different from the one that caused a terrible outbreak in Europe and the Middle East.
Two plague-bearing skeletons were discovered in a mass grave at Charterhouse Warren in Somerset. Scientists then managed to establish that they were teenagers.
Their bodies were found in a place where the bodies of 28 other people were buried. All were found to have signs of fatal injuries, which indicates that a mass grave could be used to bury bodies after a violent death. Whether their murders are connected with plague infection is unknown to scientists.
The third skeleton was discovered in Cumbria. It was possible to establish that it was a woman aged 35 to 45 years. The exact cause of her death cannot be determined.
Scientists have been able to isolate the DNA of a strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis that is different from the strain of the bacterium that caused the plague that raged for 500 years and claimed millions of lives in Europe and the Middle East.
The found strain is the oldest case of Y.pestis infection known to scientists, found in Britain. Scientists suggest that the discovery of the strain suggests that the plague was spreading easily even before mutations appeared in the 14th century that contributed to repeated outbreaks.
The researchers hope that the discovery will help them better understand the distribution and evolutionary changes of pathogens in the past. They will also be able to learn which genes may be important in the spread of infectious diseases.
The appearance and spread of the plague remains a mystery to scientists, despite the fact that the history of the disease is fairly well known. Plague traces have previously been found in Eurasia among specimens that are 5,000 years old.
The discovery suggests that the Y. pestis strain spread from continental Europe to the British Isles earlier than previously thought. This early and wide geographic distribution indicates that pneumonic plague spread not only far, but quite easily.
Further research may help reveal the impact she had on humanity at that time.
Earlier, GLOBAL HAPPENINGS also said that the glaciers of the Arctic are teeming with “zombie” bacteria.
Source: Obozrevatel
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