For the first time, direct genomic evidence was found. This could identify the pathogen that caused the first pandemic. What was the bacteria responsible for the Peste de Justiniano in the Eastern Mediterranean, almost 1,500 years ago? The finding made it interdisciplinary team from the University of Southern Florida (USF) and the Atlantic University of Florida (FAU).
They identified Yersinia Pestis, the microbe causing the plague, in a common grave in the ancient city of Jerash, Jordan, near the epicenter of the pandemic. The finding definitely links the pathogen with Justinian's plague. He marked the first pandemic (541-750 AD). This resolves one of the oldest mysteries in history.
Justinian plague
For centuries, it was discussed on the causes of the devastating outbreak that killed dozens of millions of people. He transformed the Byzantine Empire and altered the course of Western civilization. The discovery underlines the current relevance of the plague: although it is rare, Y. Pestis continues to circulate throughout the world. In July, a resident of Northern Arizona died from pneumonic plague. It is the most lethal form of infection by this bacterium.
The pathogen that caused the first pandemic is confirmed. "It is the definitive proof that I was in the epicenter of Justinian's plague." He affirmed it in a release Dr. Rays Hy Jiang, principal researcher. Justinian's plague first appeared in the Historical Registry in Egypt, before extending throughout the Roman Empire of the East or Byzantine.
«Using specific DNA techniques, we recover and sequence with success genetic material from eight human teeth. They were in funeral chambers under the old Roman racetrack of Jerash. It is a city just 320 kilometers from the old fluff, ”they indicate. The sand had been converted into common grave between the middle of the seventh and early eighth of the VII. There the written records describe a sudden wave of mortality.
Other pandemics
It was learned that subsequent plague pandemics, from the black plague of the fourteenth century to the cases that still appear today, did not descend from a single ancestral strain. Instead, they emerged independently and repeated from long -standing animals. They exploded in multiple waves in different regions and times. This repetitive pattern contrasts markedly with the Pandemia of Sars-COV-2 (COVID-19), which originated from a single propagation event. Evolved mainly through transmission between humans.
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