Revealed, This 5,000-Year-Old Man’s Body Is Patient Zero Black Death Outbreak?

The researchers sequenced DNA from the bones and teeth of all four individuals tested for bacteria and viruses.

“He most likely was bitten by a rodent, got a major infection with Yersinia pestis and died a few days later — maybe a week later — from septic shock,” said Dr Krause-Kyora.

The discovery led the researchers to suggest that the ancient strain arose about 7,000 years ago, when agriculture was beginning to emerge in central Europe.

They think the bacteria might have jumped sporadically from animals to humans without causing a major outbreak.

Over time, the bacteria adapted to infect humans and eventually developed into a form known as the bubonic plague, which was spread by fleas and raged through medieval Europe — causing millions of deaths.

The idea that this early type of plague was slow to spread challenges many theories about the development of human civilization in Europe and Asia, casting doubt on the hypothesis that the disease caused a major population decline in Western Europe at the end of the Neolithic Age.

Other researchers welcomed the study, but said it was possible the outbreak had spread widely in Europe at this time.

Usually, humans infected with this plague are bitten by rat fleas that carry plague bacteria or by handling infected animals.

Until now, this disease still exists but can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.

Reporter: Paquita Gadin

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