With ancient DNA, scientists have mapped 37,000 years of disease across Europe and Asia.
More than 200 modern
diseases are zoonoses—that is, they can spread to humans from other animals.
Both rampant and widespread, zoonoses are often at the center of contemporary
outbreaks, epidemics, and research. Six out of ten known infectious diseases
are zoonotic, and three out of four new or emerging diseases that affect humans
come from animals.
For a long time,
scientists have speculated that these diseases began afflicting societies
around the time animals were domesticated. But they’ve never had genetic
evidence or pinned down a specific timeline—until now.
A team of scientists
have traced the genetic history of 214 diseases across Europe and Asia over the
last 37,000 years. Their findings indicate that the rise of animal husbandry
forever shaped humanity’s relationship with disease. However, the timing defied
their expectations.
The researchers found
that zoonotic pathogens emerged roughly 6,500 years ago and spiked 5,000 years
ago. That was surprising because it was several thousand years after humans
began domesticating animals in Mesopotamia and southeast Asia. But the evidence
says zoonoses initially became prevalent in Asia and Russia as communities
transitioned from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to nomadic livestock herding or
farming.
Having already tamed
horses, communities began to travel in wagons pulled by oxen, which allowed
them to voyage farther and exchange goods, ideas, and diseases with other
communities. Though some pathogens may have moved from animals to humans even
earlier, research suggests these changes made the spread more prevalent.
A vast analysis of DNA
from ancient human remains made this study possible. The researchers extracted
remnants of microbial genetic material from the teeth and bones of 1,313 human
skeletons and identified 5,486 DNA sequences from bacteria, parasites, and
viruses. Many remains were found in the same graves, indicating that a single
contagion killed multiple people.
The study builds on
existing evidence that mutations in these pathogens strengthened the immune
systems of the nomads who were the first to get sick, while farmers and
hunter-gatherers succumbed to the new diseases. But another study suggested
that these nomads’ evolving immune systems might have also made them
susceptible to chronic illnesses, like multiple sclerosis.
Understanding the ways
pathogens affected humans long ago could help improve modern treatments and
methods for preventing disease.
Successful mutations of
the past are likely to reappear. So knowledge is important for future vaccines.
Knowledge allows us to test whether current vaccines provide sufficient
coverage or new ones need to be developed due to mutations.
Scientists analyzed one
sample dating to 5,500 years ago, which contained the world’s oldest known
genetic trace of yersinia pestis, which caused the plague that killed
between 30 and 50 percent of Europe’s population during the Middle Ages. It’s
just one example of how zoonoses have had a massive influence on human history
and culture.
Other diseases
identified in the human remains include malaria (4,200 years old), leprosy
(1,400 years old), Hepatitis B (9,800 years old), and diphtheria (11,100 years
old).
The work has some
limitations. The genes of many viruses are encoded in RNA, which was not
studied. The research might have missed some pathogens that were present at low
levels. The history revealed is limited to the Eurasian sites where the
skeletons were found.
I look forward to the
day when my immune system figures out how to avoid covid-19.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/with-ancient-dna-scientists-have-mapped-37-000-years-of-disease-across-europe-and-asia/ar-AA1Jag8R?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=79a5e33a5ea742c0a9a5e8ffd7787b1a&ei=29
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