Overview
- The Current Biology study, led by Institut Pasteur researcher Nicolás Rascovan, analyzed teeth from 13 soldiers interred in Vilnius.
- Genetic evidence of Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C was found in four individuals and Borrelia recurrentis in two.
- Researchers found no DNA from Rickettsia prowazekii, the classic typhus agent, or from Bartonella quintana.
- The authors argue the catastrophe likely stemmed from co-circulating infections compounded by starvation, cold and exhaustion.
- The team stresses the small sample from more than 3,000 burials, noting one relapsing-fever strain matches a lineage known from Iron Age Britain.