New study sheds light on survivors of the Black Death

UofSC ^ | 5/7/2014 | Peggy Binette

[SunkenCiv]

A new study suggests that people who survived the medieval mass-killing plague known as the Black Death lived significantly longer and were healthier than people who lived before the epidemic struck in 1347.

Caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, the Black Death wiped out 30 percent of Europeans and nearly half of Londoners during its initial four-year wave from 1347 – 1351...

The findings have important implications for understanding emerging diseases and how they impact the health of individuals and populations of people...

She says the Black Death was a single iteration of a disease that has affected humans since at least the 6th century Plague of Justinian...

To better understand those human factors DeWitte has spent the last decade examining the skeletal remains of more 1,000 men, women and children who lived before, during and after the Black Death. The skeletons, maintained in the archives of the Museum of London, were excavated from a handful of well-documented London cemeteries, including St. Mary Spital, Guildhall Yard, St. Nicholas Shambles and St. Mary Graces...

DeWitte's analysis has revealed several important findings. Most notably that:

the 14th-century Black Death was not an indiscriminate killer, but instead targeted frail people of all ages;

survivors of the Black Death experienced improvements in health and longevity, with many people living to ages of 70 or 80 years, as compared to pre-Black Death populations;

improvements in survival post-Black Death didn't necessarily equate to good health over a lifespan, but revealed a hardiness to endure disease, including repeated bouts of plague; and

the Black Death, either directly or indirectly, very powerfully shaped mortality patterns for generations after the epidemic ended.

DeWitte says she was surprised by how much of a change she estimated between the pre- and post-Black Death periods...

[SunkenCiv]

Your nickname isn’t “Lucky” by any chance? ;’) Glad you’re still with us.

[jacob allen]

Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down.

[stockpirate]

I think I read somewhere that the American indian dying off in large numbers is not the case and has been disproven

[exDemMom]

You are speaking about the Delta-32 mutation, which affects (now) about ten percent of the population.

I'm not certain whether that is the mutation I was speaking about. I seem to recall reading that there is a variant in one of the proteins within the MHC II complex which is enriched in populations with European ancestry (descendants of the black death survivors). This was published a few months or maybe a year or so ago. I tried to do a Google search, and found a more recent publication discussing a polymorphism within the TLR2 protein that is also associated with survivors of the black death, but I cannot access the article at home. I have access at work, but whether I'll remember to look at the article is questionable.

It really is not surprising that a pandemic would select for certain gene variants. Evolutionary forces are constantly shaping us.

Except for food poisoning, I have not been sick in years. I watched both husband and son sniffle, sneeze, and cough with something a couple months ago, but I did not get sick. I think my immune system must have a very long memory for every virus I've ever encountered.

[Yollopoliuhqui]

>>Survival of the fittest is a good thing.

Yah, particularly when observed to be survival of the smartest, eh.

[wildbill]

Back in the day when I was studying the Middle Ages I read a study or a chapter in a book about the plague and how certain communities apparently had immunities that protected their people.

I remember one of the pockets without any plague deaths was an area in Bavaria and/or the Balkans as well as a township or two in England.

It occurred to me that the immunity might be the result of some specific genetic strain that was handed down in those isolated pockets from generation to generation.

[Beowulf9]

“Wasn’t Nostradamus already famous for the fact that as a doctor most of his patients survived the Black Death even though his immediate family did not?”

Yes. A lot claim it was his ‘rose pills’ but I go more with the theory of his insistence on hygienic practices, ie; hand washing...but also the use of garlic and aloe is interesting. Then there is the 4 thieves story (following link).

“He followed the advise taught by his great-grandfather, he suggested to bury corpses very deep, between layers of quicklime (Lime has a sterilization action). He also advised to burn trash (food for rats and their infecting fleas). Also he asked to everybody to have a scrupulous cleaning of hands, to change clean dresses often, filtraiting masks, etc.

His potion of Garlic and Aloe that he recommended as ointment for massages and also for ingestion got an excellent reputation for defending from plague infection. (Actually, scientist have widely proven the excellent antibacterial action of Garlic (website) and the immune stimulating effect of Aloe).”
http://members.tripod.com/~red_turtle/biography.html

Four thieves story and formula:

http://subscriptions.bioethika.com/pdf/potent_protection.pdf

[1010RD]

Well done and thanks.

[5th MEB]

Nope: guess I am just to stubborn (or to stupid) to lay down and give up the ghost.
Remember those never give up cartoons; the one I liked best was the frog strangling the stork on his way down it’s gullet.