Plague in humans 'twice as old' but didn't begin as flea-borne, ancient DNA reveals

EurekAlert! ^ | October 22, 2015 | University of Cambridge

[SunkenCiv]

New research using ancient DNA has revealed that plague has been endemic in human populations for more than twice as long as previously thought, and that the ancestral plague would have been predominantly spread by human-to-human contact -- until genetic mutations allowed Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis), the bacteria that causes plague, to survive in the gut of fleas.

These mutations, which may have occurred near the turn of the 1st millennium BC, gave rise to the bubonic form of plague that spreads at terrifying speed through flea -- and consequently rat -- carriers. The bubonic plague caused the pandemics that decimated global populations, including the Black Death, which wiped out half the population of Europe in the 14th century.

Before its flea-borne evolution, however, researchers say that plague was in fact endemic in the human populations of Eurasia at least 3,000 years before the first plague pandemic in historical records (the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD).

They say the new evidence that Y. pestis bacterial infection in humans actually emerged around the beginning of the Bronze Age suggests that plague may have been responsible for major population declines believed to have occurred in the late 4th and early 3rd millennium BC...

The Books of Samuel in the Bible describe an outbreak of plague among the Philistines in 1320 BC, complete with swellings in the groin, which the World Health Organization has argued fits the description of bubonic plague. Mirazón-Lahr suggests this may support the idea of a Middle Eastern origin for the plague's highly lethal genetic evolution.

[SunkenCiv]

Yamnaya people moved into Central Asia from the region around present day Caucasus in early Bronze Age (c. 5000 years ago) and developed the Afanasievo culture. The Afanasievo are one of the Bronze Age groups carrying Y. pestis. Credit: Natalia Shishlina

[SunkenCiv]

the rest of the Afanasievo keyword:

• Plague Infected Humans Much Earlier Than Previously Thought [2015]
• How Europeans Evolved White Skin [2018]
• How Asian Nomadic Herders Built New Bronze Age Cultures [2017]
• Ancient barley took high road to China [2017]
• 10 Mysterious Human Populations [2016]
• Why did ancient Europeans just disappear 14,500 Years Ago? [2016]
• 'Fourth strand' of European ancestry originated with hunter-gatherers isolated by Ice Age [2015]
• DNA Deciphers Roots of Modern Europeans [2015]
• European languages linked to migration from the east [2015]
• Water's edge ancestors: Human evolution's tide may have turned on lake and sea shores [2011]
• Did first humans come out of Middle East and not Africa?... [2010]
• Archaeologists find 'mini-Pompeii' [ Norway, 3500 BC ] [2010]
• Europe's oldest stone hand axes emerge in Spain [900,000 years B.P.] [2009]
• Ancient Wheat Suggests Early China, Middle east Trade [2007]
• On The Presence Of Non-Chinese At Anyang [2006]
• Stranger In A New Land (Archaeology) [2003]
• Sand-Covered Huns City Unearthed [2002]

[SunkenCiv]

Yersinia Pestis keyword, chrono sorted:

• Bubonic Plague "Imminent" in Los Angeles, Says Dr. Drew Pinsky [2019]
• Did a new form of plague destroy Europe's Stone Age societies? [2019]
• Oldest Bubonic Plague Genome Decoded [2018]
• Maybe Rats Aren't to Blame for the Black Death [2018]
• DANCING WITH DEATH Plague is spreading because relatives are digging up their Black Death dead [2017]
• Did famine worsen the Black Death? [2016]
• Plague Infected Humans Much Earlier Than Previously Thought [2015]
• The Mutant Genes Behind the Black Death [2015]
• Victims of the Great Plague 'discovered' at Liverpool Street station [2015]
• Rats reprieved as giant gerbils are blamed for the Black Death [2015]
• Experts raise alarm as plague kills dozens in Madagascar [2015]
• Is Ebola the Same Virus as the Black Death? Historical Similarities are Striking [2014]
• Experts: Ebola Outbreak, Black Death 'Plague' Spread From Africa as Viruses [2014]
• Was Ebola Behind the Black Death? [2014]
• Could the Black Death Actually Have Been an Ebola-like Virus? [2014]
• The Next Pandemic [2014]
• New study sheds light on survivors of the Black Death [2014]
• Black Death skeletons unearthed by Crossrail project [2014]
• European genes altered by Black Death [2014]
• Black Death may have scuppered Roman Empire [2014]
• Plague decoded: Researchers link 2 of the most devastating pandemics in history [2014]
• Dipstick test for plague on the way [2013]
• How The Bubonic Plague Actually Saved Europe In The 14th Century (Finance) [2013]
• Plague Helped Bring Down Roman Empire [2013]
• Black Death Genetic Code "Built" [2011]
• Deadly Black Death bug hasn't changed, but we have [2011]
• Black Death Bacterium Identified: Genetic Analysis of Medieval Plague Skeletons... [2011]
• Colorado Cat Tests Positive for Bubonic Plague [2011]
• Fall of Rome Recorded in Trees [2011]
• BBC:Roman Rise, Fall 'Recorded in Trees' (Climate Change Led to Fall of Empire) BARF-A-GANZA! [2011]
• Climate Changes Linked to Fall of Roman Empire [2011]
• Cause of the big plague epidemic of Middle Ages identified [2010]
• Convicted Disease Doc Won't Be Charged in MIA Scare [2010]
• Plague researcher in Chicago dies from infection (Yersinia pestis, septicemic plague infection) [2009]
• [Plague] Bacteria linked to university scientist's death [2009]
• Study of ancient and modern plagues finds common features [2008]
• Plague kills 37-year-old man in Arizona [2008]
• Scientists Discover Why Plague Is So Lethal [2008]
• Plague Victims Discovered After 1500 Years (Justinian) [2008]
• The Chances Of Surviving The Black Death [2008]
• Black Death Targeted The Weak [2008]
• Clues to Black Plague's Fury in 650-Year-Old Skeletons [2008]
• Medieval DNA, Modern Medicine (Lessons From The Black Death) [2007]
• Black Death Casts A genetic Shadow Over England [2007]
• Lost documents shed light on Black Death [2007]
• Disabling Key Protein May Give Physicians Time To Treat Pneumonic Plague [2007]
• An Empire's Epidemic (Justinian Plague) [2006]
• Europe's Chill Linked To Disease (Black Death Caused Little Ice Age?) [2006]
• Tobacco Plant Transformed into Plague Vaccine Factory [2006]
• Medieval Plague May Explain Resistance to HIV [2005]
• Global Warming and Global Cooling are as Old as the Black Plague [2005]
• Black Death Mutant Gene Resists AIDS, Say Scientists (Virus) [2005]
• Bubonic Plague Traced To Ancient Egypt (Black Death) [2004]
• The Trials of Thomas Butler [2003]
• The viruses are out there, and they are out to get us [2003]
• Medieval Black Death Was Probably Not Bubonic Plague [2002]
• Black Death 'Was Not Plague' Say Experts [2002]

[Tax-chick]

I'm currently (though not at this moment) watching a Great Courses series on the Black Death. One point that's been brought up both in the course and in my reading is that, although we're pretty darn sure that Yersinia pestis is "Bubonic Plague," we're not nearly as sure that there weren't other causes of death kicking around at the same time.

Also, the lecturer wears very slimming outfits, which I will copy if I'm invited to appear on "Jeopardy!".

[eyeamok]

It appears the flea-borne virus is more preferable, maybe that’s why Los Angeles is breeding them

[Equine1952]

Well if rats carry the fleas carrying the plague. LA and Baltimore are off my vacation list. Don’t need no “Ring Around The Rosey” .

[Tax-chick]

U.S. cases of plague are usually in the desert Southwest. Numbers go up during drought, when infected mice and jerboa and stuff move into suburbs looking for irrigation. A few people die from time to time because they didn’t know what they had until too late.

There’s no indication of its being transmitted into urban populations, even in its endemic areas, at this time.

[SunkenCiv]

It was in vogue a few years back to deny Y. Pestis as the cause of The Plague, but DNA research has taken a chain saw to that silly notion. But yeah, there are always different causes of death, and most of them have come and gone a few times, due to non-human reservoirs. Smallpox emerged perhaps no more than 3K years ago, and has no known non-human host -- the eradication program worldwide has worked -- the CDC says no cases since 1980. The Egyptian 18th Dynasty pharaohs' mummified remains have survived for the most part, and the non-invasive study (CAT scans and whatev') have shown the lesions on at least two of them.

[Equine1952]

Well that’s nice to know. I still wouldn’t go to LA or Baltimore if Nasty Pelosi and Cummings paid for the trips. As a kid I spent time shooting rats. I bet the locals in either location wouldn’t appreciate that. We’ll see if the poem comes back, history has a way of repeating itself.

[Tax-chick]

The lecturer said that the experience of England with the Black Death suggests anthrax was going on at the same time, described in contemporaneous sources as “a cattle murrain.”

[Tax-chick]

Plague is very treatable if it’s caught early. Should it appear in an urban setting in the U.S. today, it would have a different profile than in, say, 1347 Florence.

[SunkenCiv]

Diagnosis was pretty sophisticated even before the emergence of microbiology.

[Billthedrill]

The pneumonic form of plague is directly human-to-human contagious, so the jump to fleas may have been a lateral species jump providing another disease vector and an additional reservoir in infected animals. Cheery thought - what we have today is the new, improved version.

[SunkenCiv]

Regarding this snip of the original excerpt up top:

The Books of Samuel in the Bible describe an outbreak of plague among the Philistines in 1320 BC, complete with swellings in the groin, which the World Health Organization has argued fits the description of bubonic plague. Mirazón-Lahr suggests this may support the idea of a Middle Eastern origin for the plague's highly lethal genetic evolution.

Philistines keyword, edited, chrono sort:

• Archaeologists uncover earliest evidence for equid bit wear in the ancient Near East [2019]
• Archaeologists announce discovery of the biblical city of Ziklag [2019]
• Scholars say Philistine genes help solve biblical mystery [2019]
• Israeli scientists brew beer with revived ancient yeasts [2019]
• The Last Days of Canaanite Azekah [2019]
• Ark of the Covenant inside a church in Ethiopia?Historian's claim of having seen the Ark disputed [2018]
• Where Did the Philistines Come From? [2018]
• New DNA Discoveries Prove the Bible Accurate, Despite What Headlines Claim [2017]
• Israel Find May Help Solve Mystery Of Biblical Philistines [2016]
• Excavations at Idalion, Cyprus: Crossing Cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean [April 6, 2016] [2016]
• Queen of the Philistines: Trude Dothan (1922-2016) [2016]
• Philistines introduced sycamore, cumin and opium poppy into Israel during the Iron Age [2015]
• Goliath Gates: Entrance to Famous Biblical Metropolis Uncovered [2015]
• Bible Proved Historically Accurate Once Again. Goliath's Gates Found [2015]
• Archaeologists Unearth Another Impressive Biblical Find [2015]
• Goliath Gates: Entrance to Famous Biblical Metropolis Uncovered [2015]
• Archaeologists discover humongous gate in Goliath's hometown [2015]
• Sex, drugs and Philistines: A biblical psychedelic scene [2015]
• Last practitioner of Minoan rituals may have lived in Jerusalem's Old City till '48 [2015]
• Cultural connections with Europe found in ancient Jordanian settlement [2014]
• Ancient City Discovered Beneath Biblical-Era Ruins in Israel [2013]
• Genetic study proves Israel's wild boars originated in Europe [2013]
• Archaeologists say they uncovered King David's Palace [2013]
• Does this coin found near Jerusalem prove that Samson lived? [2012]
• Mosaic in Israel Shows Biblical Samson [2012]
• 3,000-year-old artifacts fuel Biblical archaeology debate [2012]
• 3,000-year-old altar uncovered at Philistine site suggests cultural links to Jews [2011]
• In Israel, Diggers Unearth The Bible's Bad Guys [2011]
• Diggers Unearth Philistines Remains in Israel, Providing scholars with clues to the Bible's bad guys [2011]
• In Israel, diggers unearth the Bible's bad guys [2011]
• David and Solomon [2010]
• Philistine Temple Ruins Uncovered in Goliath's Hometown [2010]
• Archaeologists Uncover Goliath's Hometown [2010]
• Experts dig up dirt on David and Goliath [2009]
• New evidence surfaces of David's kingdom [2008]
• Sick Rams Used As Ancient Bioweapons [2007]
• Samson Effect [2007]
• Bronze Age building uncovered near Gaza [2007]
• A serving of Philistine culture: Boar, dog and fine wine [2007]
• Philistines, But Less And Less Philistine [2007]
• Special Report: Ekron Identity Confirmed [ from 1998 ] [2006]
• Anti-social Samson [2006]
• Has the Biblical Goliath Been Found? [2005]
• Dig Backs Biblical Account Of Philistine City Of Gat [2005]
• Muslims Say "Samson" was the first suicide bomber [2005]
• Ethnic Groups in Philistia [2004]
• Bio Warfare Rears Its Head- The Ancient world USED IT!!!(MUST READ!) [2004]
• Bees, snakes, germs - any weapon in a pinch [2003]

[PIF]

genetic mutations can't happen
see: Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with Berlinski, Meyer, and Gelernter

[SunkenCiv]

They'll stone you when you try to go home.

[SunkenCiv]

Smallpox started as a mutation from a rat-borne bug of some sort.

[Tax-chick]

Yes, but there’s a lot of ground between the 14th century and microbiology, and documentation doesn’t always make stuff clear.

[lizma2]

Read years ago that during the time of the Black Death there was an colder than normal period bringing the rats in closer to humans.

Thank God we have global warming!!!

[Tax-chick]

There was a heavy rain spell with subsequent famine. The really cold hit in the late 1500s.

The cold-so-rats-move-in theory for the Black Death has taken some hits, but the population-crunch theory is still holding water.