In a shocking discovery, the archaeological team explained their finding of an ancient disease that wiped out 50,000,000 people after it was found in the DNA of an Egyptian mummy.
A discovery links an ancient Egyptian mummy to the infamous “Black Death” that wiped out millions.
Traces of the bubonic plague found in an Egyptian mummy
Archaeologists have found evidence of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible for the bubonic plague, in a 1780 BC Egyptian mummy. This discovery connects the ancient disease to a time long before medieval Europe.
The mummy, currently housed at the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, was tested by archaeologists who found traces of the plague in both its bone tissue and intestinal content.
This is the first known instance of “Y. pestis” being found in ancient Egypt.
What the discovery means for the histoty of the plague
While the bubonic plague is usually associated with the Middle Ages, this new finding suggests that the disease existed long before that period.
The report on the discovery was presented at the European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association, which confirmed the presence of “Y. pestis” DNA in the mummy.
They explained in the report:
“Here, we report the presence of Y. pestis DNA in an ancient Egyptian mummy of an adult male from the collection of the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy.
“The individual, who was anthropogenically mummified, was radiocarbon-dated from the end of the Second Intermediate Period to the beginning of the New Kingdom, yet its exact provenance within Egypt is unknown.
“Bone tissue and intestinal content derived from the mummy were first subjected to a shotgun metagenomics approach. Thereby, we detected Y. pestis DNA in both samples indicating broad tissue tropism of the pathogen during an already advanced state of disease progression.
“This is the first reported prehistoric Y. pestis genome outside Eurasia providing molecular evidence for the presence of plague in ancient Egypt, although we cannot infer how widespread the disease was during this time.”
This marks the first prehistoric “Y. pestis” genome found outside of Eurasia. It provides direct molecular evidence of the plague in ancient Egypt.
However, the exact scope and spread of the disease during this time remain unclear.
The bubonic plague: From ancient Egypt to modern times
The bubonic plague is often thought of as a medieval illness, with its most famous outbreak occurring in the 14th century.
However, this new evidence shows that the disease may have affected earlier civilizations.
Today, while we have modern hygiene and medicine, the plague still exists in some parts of the world.
Between 2010 and 2015, 3,248 cases of the plague were reported globally. Outbreaks occurred in Africa, Asia, South America, and the USA.
Modern-day cases of the plague
Despite its historical notoriety, the plague is treatable with antibiotics today. Modern-day cases of the disease are rare, but they still occur.
In fact, the plague is still spread by animals. Professor Michael Marks from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explained this.
The risk of plague reaching the UK is very low. However, there continue to be cases in the USA and other parts of the world.