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Vikings had smallpox and may have helped spread the world's deadliest virus
EurekAlert! ^ | July 23, 2020 | St John's College, University of Cambridge

Posted on 07/25/2020 10:53:57 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

Scientists have discovered extinct strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons - proving for the first time that the killer disease plagued humanity for at least 1400 years.

Smallpox spread from person to person via infectious droplets, killed around a third of sufferers and left another third permanently scarred or blind. Around 300 million people died from it in the 20th century alone before it was officially eradicated in 1980 through a global vaccination effort - the first human disease to be wiped out...

He said: "We discovered new strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons and found their genetic structure is different to the modern smallpox virus eradicated in the 20th century...

Smallpox was eradicated throughout most of Europe and the United States by the beginning of the 20th century but remained endemic throughout Africa, Asia, and South America. The World Health Organisation launched an eradication programme in 1967... [b]ut it was the global roll out of a vaccine that ultimately enabled scientists to stop smallpox in its tracks.

Historians believe smallpox may have existed since 10,000 BC but until now there was no scientific proof that the virus was present before the 17th century...

The team of researchers found smallpox - caused by the variola virus - in 11 Viking-era burial sites in Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the UK. They also found it in multiple human remains from Öland, an island off the east coast of Sweden with a long history of trade. The team were able to reconstruct near-complete variola virus genomes for four of the samples.

(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; epidemics; godsgravesglyphs; middleages; navigation; pandemics; plagues; renaissance; smallpox; thecrusades; thesniffles; thevikings; vikings
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To: SunkenCiv
Now, who gave smallpox to the Vikings? Que the History 'I'm not saying, but was it Aliens? ' 😋guy.
21 posted on 07/25/2020 11:57:12 AM PDT by Deplorable American1776 (Proud to be a DeplorableAmerican with a Deplorable Family...even the dog is, too. :-) Trump 2020)
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To: SunkenCiv
Smallpox spread from person to person via infectious droplets,

It is also spread by drilling into the teeth of dead Vikings.

22 posted on 07/25/2020 12:03:29 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (In 2016 Obama ended America's 220 year tradition of peaceful transfer of power after an election.)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

Practice social distancing …...


23 posted on 07/25/2020 12:08:08 PM PDT by njslim
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To: SunkenCiv
Poxistan

Ol, I chuckled a bit.

24 posted on 07/25/2020 12:08:09 PM PDT by gov_bean_ counter (AOC the bartender would have had to work on the second floor at Miss KittyÂ’s saloon...)
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To: SunkenCiv

Random weird question:

I wonder how the Mongol practice of depopulating entire areas impacted the spread of diseases from east to west back in the day?

Did it halt some plagues?

Did it push plagues to the west with the refugees that managed to get away?


25 posted on 07/25/2020 12:13:00 PM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: Grimmy

Well that’s fecking disgusting.

:-P


26 posted on 07/25/2020 12:30:13 PM PDT by Salamander (Flying Colours....)
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To: Salamander

Of course it is.

Arabs. They’re all about the gross.


27 posted on 07/25/2020 12:35:06 PM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

SmallPox and the Plague are the 2 worst infections diseases of all time. One a virus and one a bacterium.

Malaria is probably an honorable mention. or dishonorable to be more accurate.


28 posted on 07/25/2020 1:03:11 PM PDT by desertfreedom765
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To: SunkenCiv

If only they’d won one of those Super Bowls.


29 posted on 07/25/2020 1:05:19 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: SunkenCiv

What are the consequences of “digging” into smallpox infestations? It’s one of the reasons I don’t agree with grave digging.


30 posted on 07/25/2020 1:06:48 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: SunkenCiv

What did Fauci do? He was around back then wasn’t he?


31 posted on 07/25/2020 1:23:21 PM PDT by cork (gun control, proper grip, stance and target picture)
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To: SunkenCiv

So ... if we can’t say COVID was started by the Chinese without being called racists, is this author racist against Vikings? /s


32 posted on 07/25/2020 1:40:17 PM PDT by al_c (Democrats: Party over Common Sense)
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To: SunkenCiv

lr


33 posted on 07/25/2020 1:45:16 PM PDT by preacher ( Journalism no longer reports news, they use news to shape our society.)
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To: chuckles
👍
34 posted on 07/25/2020 3:58:49 PM PDT by BiteYourSelf (Two legs bad, four legs good)
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To: Cowboy Bob; Lurkina.n.Learnin

The usual way — armor, axe-swingin’, sword thrustin’ shield wall last resortin’ berserkin’!


35 posted on 07/25/2020 5:02:35 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Judging from the teeth, this was a pretty young person in their prime.


36 posted on 07/25/2020 8:57:38 PM PDT by EinNYC
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To: EinNYC

Probably flossed every day. Good dental care helps stave off certain health problems. :^)


37 posted on 07/26/2020 7:33:09 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv
I thought you'd be bigger

Damn blonde white vikings, killing people with their white diseases

38 posted on 07/26/2020 9:00:38 AM PDT by Pollard (whatever)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

But she was a really pretty camel


39 posted on 07/26/2020 9:01:25 AM PDT by Pollard (whatever)
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