health
Ancient DNA provides evidence of earliest known plague outbreak
Discovery in Siberia suggests bacterium from raw marmots devastated hunter-gatherer tribes about 5,500 years ago
TL;DR
- The earliest evidence of plague has been found in late Stone Age cemeteries in south-eastern Siberia.
- Ancient DNA analysis suggests plague outbreaks occurred around 5,500 years ago, at least two centuries after *Yersinia pestis* first emerged.
- Hunter-gatherers likely became infected by butchering or eating raw marmots, a practice that could lead to person-to-person spread.
- At least two-thirds of the dead at two cemeteries were under 15 years old, indicating high child mortality.
- Tests on 42 individuals found *Y* *pestis* DNA in 18 of them (39%), with scientists suspecting all may have died from plague.
- The ancient DNA points to two distinct outbreaks, one starting about 5,500 years ago and another 400-600 years later.
- The *Y* *pestis* found carried a toxic protein that could trigger severe immune reactions, making it particularly lethal for children.