Monday, May 29, 2023
News on Pathogens and Preparedness
Global Biodefense
  • Featured
  • COVID-19
  • Funding
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • COVID-19
  • Funding
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Global Biodefense
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured News

Black Death Shaped Mortality Patterns for Generations after Epidemic

by Global Biodefense Staff
May 8, 2014
Biodefense Yersinia pestis

Scanning electron micrograph depicting a mass of Yersinia pestis bacteria (the cause of bubonic plague) in the foregut of the flea vector. Credit: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH.

A new study suggests that people who survived the medieval mass-killing plague known as the Black Death lived significantly longer and were healthier than people who lived before the epidemic struck in 1347.

The findings have important implications for understanding emerging diseases and how they impact the health of individuals and populations of people.

Led by University of South Carolina anthropologist Sharon DeWitte, the study provides the first look at how the plague, called bubonic plague today, shaped population demographics and health for generations.

“Knowing how strongly diseases can actually shape human biology can give us tools to work with in the future to understand disease and how it might affect us,” DeWitte says.

Examining Ancient and Modern Strains of Y. Pestis

She says the Black Death was a single iteration of a disease that has affected humans since at least the 6th century Plague of Justinian. Caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, the Black Death wiped out 30 percent of Europeans and nearly half of Londoners during its initial four-year wave from 1347 – 1351.

“Genetic analysis of 14th century Y. pestis has not revealed significant functional differences in the ancient and modern strains,” DeWitte says. “This suggests that we need to consider other factors such as the characteristics of humans in order to understand changes in the disease over time.”

To better understand those human factors DeWitte has spent the last decade examining the skeletal remains of more 1,000 men, women and children who lived before, during and after the Black Death. The skeletons, maintained in the archives of the Museum of London, were excavated from a handful of well-documented London cemeteries, including St. Mary Spital, Guildhall Yard, St. Nicholas Shambles and St. Mary Graces.

Gathering Clues from Skeletal Remains

The skeletons are catalogued in 3-foot by 1-foot boxes. As she studies each skeleton, DeWitte determines biological sex, age at death and analyzes specific markers, including porous lesions, and teeth, to gauge each individual’s general health. Her bioarchaeological research is providing a new dimension to the study of Black Death and provides the first look at the lives of women and children during this medieval time period.

“It’s innovative because of the analytical approaches I take. I’m providing more nuanced reconstructions of life in the past than is possible with more traditional methods in my field,” DeWitte says. “My Black Death research is rare because the samples that I use are exceedingly rare. There are only a handful of large cemetery samples that are clearly linked to the 14th century Black Death.

“And, most medieval historical records only tell about the experience of men. We have little information about the experiences of women and children and the poor in general during medieval plague epidemics, including the Black Death. My bioarchaeological data allows us to understand how the population in general fared during and after the epidemic.”

DeWitte’s analysis has revealed several important findings. Most notably that:

  • 14th-century Black Death was not an indiscriminate killer, but instead targeted frail people of all ages
  • Survivors of the Black Death experienced improvements in health and longevity, with many people living to ages of 70 or 80 years, as compared to pre-Black Death populations
  • Improvements in survival post-Black Death didn’t necessarily equate to good health over a lifespan, but revealed a hardiness to endure disease, including repeated bouts of plague
  • The Black Death, either directly or indirectly, very powerfully shaped mortality patterns for generations after the epidemic ended.

DeWitte says she was surprised by how much of a change she estimated between the pre- and post-Black Death periods.

“The Black Death was just the first outbreak of medieval plague, so the post-Black Death population suffered major threats to health in part from repeated outbreaks of plague,” DeWitte says. “Despite this, I found substantial improvements in demographics and thus health following the Black Death.”

Read the study at PLOS ONE: Mortality Risk and Survival in the Aftermath of the Medieval Black Death.

Tags: Y. pestis

Related Posts

Influenza Proteins Tilt and Wave in ‘Breath-like’ Motions
Pathogens

Influenza Proteins Tilt and Wave in ‘Breath-like’ Motions

January 25, 2023
NIH Grant Awarded to Study Evolution of Lyme Disease Bacteria in Deer Ticks
Pathogens

NIH Grant Awarded to Study Evolution of Lyme Disease Bacteria in Deer Ticks

December 7, 2022
Bat Virus Receptor Studies Vital to Predict Spillover Risk
Pathogens

Bat Virus Receptor Studies Vital to Predict Spillover Risk

December 7, 2022
2022 Oral Rabies Vaccine Efforts Underway in Eastern United States
Pathogens

2022 Oral Rabies Vaccine Efforts Underway in Eastern United States

August 8, 2022
Load More

Latest News

Vials of finished vaccines

UK Biomanufacturing Fund to Bolster Supply Chain Resilience and Pandemic Preparedness

May 26, 2023
Dr. Sen Pei Discusses Challenges in Forecasting Antimicrobial Resistance

Dr. Sen Pei Discusses Challenges in Forecasting Antimicrobial Resistance

April 26, 2023
Biodefense Headlines – 25 April 2023

Biodefense Headlines – 25 April 2023

April 25, 2023
Aptitude Awarded Up to $54M BARDA Funding for At-Home Diagnostics

Aptitude Awarded Up to $54M BARDA Funding for At-Home Diagnostics

April 20, 2023

Subscribe

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Stemar Media Group LLC

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • COVID-19
  • Funding
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Stemar Media Group LLC