Diverse variola virus (smallpox) strains were widespread in northern Europe in the Viking Age

Mühlemann, Barbara; Vinner, Lasse; Margaryan, Ashot; Wilhelmson, Helene; Fuente, Constanza de la; Allentoft, Morten E.; Damgaard, Peter de Barros; Hansen, Anders J.; Nielsen, Sofie Holtsmark; Strand, Lisa; Bill, Jan; Бужилова, А.П.; Pushkina, Tamara; Falys, Ceri; Khartanovich, Valeri; Moiseyev, Vyacheslav; Jørkov, Marie Louise; Sørensen, Palle Østergaard; Magnusson, Yvonne; Gustin, Ingrid; Schroeder, Hannes; Sutter, Gerd; Smith, Geoffrey L.; Drosten, Christian; Fouchier, Ron A. M.; Smith, Derek J.; Willerslev, Eske; Jones, Terry C.; Sikora, Martin

doi:10.1126/science.aaw8977

Cited by 124 publications

(134 citation statements)

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“…Screening of a large sample of medieval remains indicated that smallpox was present in Europe by at least the 6 th century B.C.E.. However none of the strains isolated were closely related to modern strains ( Mühlemann et al, 2020 ). Instead a smallpox strain isolated from a seventeenth century Lithuanian mummy appears to be ancestral to all modern smallpox variants (of both variola major and variola minor) ( Duggan et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Davenport

2021

International Journal of Paleopathology

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Objective This study tests the argument that industrialisation was accompanied by a dramatic worsening of urban health in England. Materials Family reconstitutions derived from baptism, marriage and burial records for the period before 1837, and from civil registration of deaths and census populations between 1837 and 1900. Methods Age-specific mortality rates are used as indicators of population health. Results The available evidence indicates a decline in urban mortality in the period c.1750-1820, especially amongst infants and (probably) rural-urban migrants. Mortality at ages 1-4 years demonstrated a more complex pattern, falling between 1750 and 1830 before rising abruptly in the mid-nineteenth century. Conclusions These patterns are better explained by changes in breastfeeding practices and the prevalence or virulence of particular pathogens than by changes in sanitary conditions or poverty. Mortality patterns amongst young adult migrants were affected by a shift from acute to chronic infectious diseases over the period. Significance Pathogen evolution, infant care and migration exerted major influences on mortality trends and should be given greater attention in studies of the health impacts of British industrialisation. Limitations Evidence of urban mortality rates is very limited before 1837 and may not be fully representative of industrialising populations. Mortality also provides only a partial picture of the health of urban populations and may be distorted by migration patterns. Further research There is enormous scope for collaboration between archaeologists and historians to investigate the health of industrial populations, through the triangulation and contextualisation of diverse sources of evidence.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Davenport

2021

International Journal of Paleopathology

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“…Initially, efforts were focused on detecting pathogenic species, tracking the development, spread, and prevalence of particular disease-causing microbes. Such efforts have resulted in new understandings of infectious disease, from the Black Death (Spyrou et al 2019) to Viking-era smallpox (Mühlemann et al 2020) to the colonial epidemics of the Americas (Vågene et al 2018). More recently, metagenomic analysis has yielded insights into ancient microbial communities, rather than a single taxon, from a range of substrates but particularly from human-associated microbial communities, such as the oral and gut microbiomes (Shillito et al 2020;Velsko and Warinner 2017).…”

Section: The Archaeology Of Fermentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultures of Fermentation: Living with Microbes

Hendy¹,

Rest²,

Aldenderfer³

et al. 2021

Current Anthropology

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Recent discoveries on the importance of microbes for human biology, health, and culture, the rise of antimicrobial resistance, and developing technological advancements necessitate new dialogues about human relationships with microbes. Long perceptible only through their transformations-from epidemic disease to alcoholic beverages-it is now possible to more fully perceive the diversity of ways in which we influence and are influenced by microbes and to understand that human and microbial cultures are fundamentally intertwined. In the introduction to this supplement, we outline the current state of the art of an "anthropology of microbes" in three subfields of anthropology: biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology. Moreover, as a result of dialogues borne out of the symposium associated with this issue, and now reflected in the articles themselves, we discuss the interactions between and within the subfields of anthropology. This supplement is committed to the development of a common language for an emerging anthropology of microbes, and in order to shape genuine transdisciplinarity we argue for the continued necessity of "trading zone" points of intersectionsuch as the Wenner-Gren Foundation's symposium "Cultures of Fermentation."

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“…Authors note that the VARV O1L ortholog has been retained in all VARV isolates, therefore it is possible that the gene has undergone subsequent selection for optimal function in human cells and may be critical for dissemination and establishment of VARV within human hosts. When investigating the evolution of the VARV genome, investigators recently hypothesized genetic losses that have occurred during evolution of the virus [42]. Comparison of the genetic differences between modern VARV isolates compared to ancient isolates could identify potential genetic elements involved in the evolution of smallpox to becoming a solely human pathogen.…”

Section: Plos Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching a new mouse old tricks: Humanized mice as an infection model for Variola virus

et al. 2021

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Smallpox, caused by the solely human pathogen Variola virus (VARV), was declared eradicated in 1980. While known VARV stocks are secure, smallpox remains a bioterrorist threat agent. Recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the first smallpox anti-viral (tecovirimat) therapeutic was a successful step forward in smallpox preparedness; however, orthopoxviruses can become resistant to treatment, suggesting a multi-therapeutic approach is necessary. Animal models are required for testing medical countermeasures (MCMs) and ideally MCMs are tested directly against the pathogen of interest. Since VARV only infects humans, a representative animal model for testing therapeutics directly against VARV remains a challenge. Here we show that three different humanized mice strains are highly susceptible to VARV infection, establishing the first small animal model using VARV. In comparison, the non-humanized, immunosuppressed background mouse was not susceptible to systemic VARV infection. Following an intranasal VARV challenge that mimics the natural route for human smallpox transmission, the virus spread systemically within the humanized mouse before mortality (~ 13 days post infection), similar to the time from exposure to symptom onset for ordinary human smallpox. Our identification of a permissive/representative VARV animal model can facilitate testing of MCMs in a manner consistent with their intended use.

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Diverse variola virus (smallpox) strains were widespread in northern Europe in the Viking Age

Abstract: Smallpox, one of the most devastating human diseases, killed between 300 million and 500 million people in the 20th century alone. We recovered viral sequences from 13 northern European individuals, including 11 dated to ~600–1050 CE, overlapping the Viking Age, an… Show more

Cited by 124 publications

References 126 publications

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Cultures of Fermentation: Living with Microbes

Teaching a new mouse old tricks: Humanized mice as an infection model for Variola virus

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