"LONDON Several teams of scientists around the world have, for some time, been studying the possibility that a genetic mutation perpetuated by the organism responsible for bubonic plague, or the Black Death, in the Middle Ages - Yersinia pestis - might give people now carrying the mutation increased resistance to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) compared to non-carriers. New research has thrown doubt on the micro-organism that was thought to have caused the Black Death, but the link to HIV resistance seems to remain.
Sue Scott and Chris Duncan from the University of Liverpool have suggested that the bacterium Y. pestis — held to be the causative organism for bubonic plague since the 19th century — may not have been responsible for the epidemic after all. In their book, 'Biology of Plagues' (Cambridge University Press, 2001) they proposed that the culprit was most likely a filovirus, similar to the Ebola virus. This theory is based on evidence that emerged after sifting through old parish records of the many towns affected by the plague and then tracking how the disease spread throughout Britain and Europe...." (SNIP)
"....Although the potential cause of the Black Death might have changed, researchers in the field still suspect that exposure to it may have passed on resistance to HIV. Since the CCR5 mutation provides protection against the entry of a virus, there's good reason to believe that what caused the Black Death was also viral, and targeted the same cells as HIV," concluded Scott."
The CCR5 mutation--could it provide some protection against coronavirus for Descendents of Northern Europeans?
Thanks! From the FRchives: