News Release

Repeated introductions of plague into Europe

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Burial

image: This is the burial excavated at the abbey of San Salvatore. view more 

Credit: Image courtesy of Elsa Pacciani and Luisa Quaglia.

A study suggests that the bacterium responsible for plague pandemics was primarily transmitted to Medieval Western Europe during the 14th century via human movement and trade routes. The Black Death epidemic is estimated to have wiped out nearly 30% of Europe's population. Despite extensive knowledge of outbreaks of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in Europe, questions about the origin and routes of transmission of outbreaks remain. Amine Namouchi, Nils Chr. Stenseth, Barbara Bramanti, and colleagues combined archaeological, historical, and genomic data to uncover the evolutionary history and spread of Y. pestis during the Second Plague Pandemic, which lasted from the 14th to 18th centuries. The authors used regional records, including death-bed testaments and property contracts, to link the plague outbreak with the death of victims. For the genomic analysis, the authors reanalyzed sequencing data from 126 strains of Y. pestis and 15 ancient genomes, including five newly sequenced genomes from the Second Plague Pandemic. Genomic data was derived from the dental remains of plague victims excavated at archaeological sites in France, Italy, Norway, and The Netherlands. According to the authors, infected goods and individuals traveling via maritime and land routes, including fur trade routes, likely contributed to the spread and recurrent outbreaks of Y. pestis across Medieval Western Europe.

Article #18-12865: "Integrative approach using Yersinia pestis genomes to revisit the historical landscape of plague during the Medieval Period," by Amine Namouchi et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Nils Chr. Stenseth, University of Oslo, NORWAY; tel: +4722854584x4400; email: n.c.stenseth@ibv.uio.no; Amine Namouchi, University of Oslo, NORWAY; amine.namouchi@ibv.uio.no; Barbara Bramanti, University of Oslo, NORWAY; barbara.bramanti@ibv.uio.no

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