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

Muehlemann, Barbara; Vinner, Lasse; Margaryan, Ashot; Wilhelmson, Helene; Castro, Constanza de la Fuente; Allentoft, Morten E.; Damgaard, Peter de Barros; Hansen, Anders Johannes; Nielsen, Sofie Holtsmark; Strand, Lisa Mariann; Bill, Jan; Buzhilova, Alexandra; Pushkina, Tamara; Falys, Ceri; Khartanovich, Valeri; Moiseyev, Vyacheslav; Jorkov, Marie Louise Schjellerup; Sorensen, Palle Ostergaard; 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. and Sikora, Martin (2020): Diverse variola virus (smallpox) strains were widespread in northern Europe in the Viking Age. In: Science, Vol. 369, No. 6502, eaaw8977

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 similar to 600-1050 CE, overlapping the Viking Age, and reconstructed near-complete variola virus genomes for four of them. The samples predate the earliest confirmed smallpox cases by similar to 1000 years, and the sequences reveal a now-extinct sister clade of the modern variola viruses that were in circulation before the eradication of smallpox. We date the most recent common ancestor of variola virus to similar to 1700 years ago. Distinct patterns of gene inactivation in the four near-complete sequences show that different evolutionary paths of genotypic host adaptation resulted in variola viruses that circulated widely among humans.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Medicine
• Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• ISSN: 0036-8075
• Language: English