DNA Confirms Cause of 1665 London’s Great Plague

DNA Confirms Cause of 1665 London’s Great Plague

September 21, 2016

A year ago, construction workers digging to build a new crossrail site in London uncovered human remains. Since then, about 3,500 skeletons have been found there, making this one of the largest archaeological excavation sites. A BBC News article released on September 8th reported that the cause of the 1665 Great Plague in London had been confirmed using these remains. This was determined by recent tests, which found DNA from the Yersinia pestis bacterium in the teeth of five out of twenty tested skeletons. Scientists will now study the full DNA genome of the bacteria to learn more about the Bubonic Plague of that time period and how it relates to other forms of the plague, both past and present.

Cassie White

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37287715
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/dna-of-bacteria-responsible-for-london-great-plague-of-1665-identified-for-first-time