Cocoliztli epidemic connected to Salmonella subspecies
- 6 years ago
TEPOSCOLULA-YUCUNDAA, MEXICO — Scientists have come one step closer to unlocking the secrets of an centuries-old contagion.
New research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution details a study looking at teeth from the remains of 29 skeletons at a centuries old burial site in Teposcolula-Yucundaa.
Those at the burial site are said to have died during the cocoliztli outbreak, a 1545 epidemic that killed millions.
The study linked the DNA found at Teposcolula-Yucundaa with a subspecies of Salmonella enterica connected to the deadly enteric typhoid fever.
The cocoliztli outbreak lasted from 1545 to 1550. According to National Geographic, another study from 2017 found the same bacteria on the remains of a Norwegian woman who passed in 1200.
But whether or not the Mexican outbreak was from colonial Europeans remains unknown.
New research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution details a study looking at teeth from the remains of 29 skeletons at a centuries old burial site in Teposcolula-Yucundaa.
Those at the burial site are said to have died during the cocoliztli outbreak, a 1545 epidemic that killed millions.
The study linked the DNA found at Teposcolula-Yucundaa with a subspecies of Salmonella enterica connected to the deadly enteric typhoid fever.
The cocoliztli outbreak lasted from 1545 to 1550. According to National Geographic, another study from 2017 found the same bacteria on the remains of a Norwegian woman who passed in 1200.
But whether or not the Mexican outbreak was from colonial Europeans remains unknown.