Completely irrelevant to modern warfare (we hope), but they have confirmed that the plague that hit London in 1664 was the bubonic plague. I was not aware that there was much question about this. Still interesting stuff based upon DNA:
DNA Confirms Cause of 1665 London’s Great Plague
DNA from Ancient Skeletons Reveals Cause of London’s Great Plague
A few notes:
- Plague killed nearly a quarter of the city.
- Killed more than 75,000 people in the space of a year.
- Caused 8,000 deaths were week at its peak in September 1665.
- Black Death killed an estimated 50 million people during the 14th century.
- More than 780 cases of the plague were reported in 2013, including 126 deaths (mainly in Africa).
- They are still examining to the DNA to see if the disease has changed over time.
Also related (but older articles):
Scientists fine DNA of first-ever bubonic plague, warn of new outbreaks
- Justinian’s plague (541-542 AD) was bubonic plague.
- Around 2,000 people a year get affected globally.
- When rapidly diagnosed and treated, it reduces mortality rate from 60 percent to less than 15 percent.
- Strains of the Yersina pestis bacterium in the first plague are different than later plagues.
- “These results show that rodent species worldwide represent important reservoirs for the repeated emergence of diverse lineages of Y pestis into human populations”
- “New sophisticated strains of the disease…could break out in the future.”
In Ancient DNA, Evidence of Plague Much Earlier than Previously Known
- The bacterium was infecting people as long as 5,000 years ago.
