Expert scientists from Scotland’s University of Stirling, Germany-based Max Planck Institute and the University of Tübingen stated that they have been researching the origin of the plague for centuries and have found evidence of its origin. “The Black Death was first detected in the 1330s and was the first wave of a nearly 500-year-old pandemic called the ‘Second Plague Pandemic’,” a statement from the University of Stirling said. It is considered one of the greatest infectious disease disasters in human history, but despite intense multi-disciplinary research, its geographical and chronological origin has so far remained unclear.
INCREASED IN THE NUMBER OF TOMBS ATTRACTED ATTENTION
Researchers identified the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis by analyzing ancient DNA (aDNA) from the teeth of skeletons discovered at burial sites near Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. University of Stirling historian Dr Philip Slavin said: “Our study concludes one of the biggest and most fascinating questions in history, determining when and where the most notorious and vicious human murderer began. After detecting a massive increase in the number of burials in 1338 and 1339, now we have examined samples from two cemeteries near Issyk Kul Lake in Northern Kyrgyzstan.” The plague was popularly called the ‘Black Death’ because of the blackening of body parts such as fingers and toes due to gangrene.
(DHA)