Second Plague News Today

The plague killed up to 60% of people living in Europe.

A team of researchers made headlines this month with a paper that detailed a major breakthrough in the mystery of the origin of the Black Death. Here, archaeogeneticist Dr Maria Spyrou, co-lead author of that study, speaks to VaccinesWork about the discovery, and what it took to get there.

Syriac inscriptions on ancient tombstones in cemeteries in modern-day Kyrgyzstan hinted to a trading community devastated by the plague, leading to a multi-disciplinary international study.

The medieval plague, which killed millions, is believed to have emerged in North Kyrgyzstan in the late 14th century.

Scientists believe they have uncovered the origins of the Black Death, more than 600 years after the plague killed millions of people in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

A team of researchers analysed ancient DNA (aDNA) taken from the teeth of skeletons discovered in cemeteries near Lake Issyk Kul in the Tian Shan region of Kyrgyzstan.

From the blog of Everett Fox at The Times of Israel