The villagers suffered from smallpox, leprosy and hepatitis at the same time: how is this possible

More than a third of the people buried in an early medieval cemetery in Germany, according to a new study,

suffered from infectious diseases.

Researchers from the University of Kielstudied the DNA and skeletal remains of 70 people. They were buried in a public cemetery in Lauchheim-Mittelhofen, a city in modern-day Germany. All references date back to the Merovingian period (between the fifth and eighth centuries AD).

Scientists have found that more than 30% of deathswere infected with hepatitis B, parvovirus B19, variola virus and Mycobacterium leprae (one of the two bacteria that causes leprosy).

Further studies showed that in sevenVillage residents had a combination of two diseases at once. Among the burials, one skeleton stood out in particular: a young man who suffered from three pathogens, including hepatitis B, parvovirus B19 and M. leprae.

Scientists have suggested why so many peoplein a small rural settlement suffered from a variety of diseases. According to the study, a number of factors could have contributed to this. For example, climate change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age (sixth and seventh centuries AD). This led to widespread crop failures and famine.

A phase of bad climate led to a general weakeningpublic health. As a result, due to increased susceptibility to disease, the infection passed from animals to humans and adapted to them as new hosts. In addition, pathogens spread widely into new populations. This explains how viruses took hold in a small human settlement and then led to major pandemic outbreaks several centuries later in the Middle Ages.

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On the cover: the skull of a boy who was found to have hepatitis B, parvovirus B19 and Mycobacterium leprae. Image courtesy of Isabel Yash-Boli

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