Dallmeier K. Palaeoserology - teeth put into ancient plagues and pandemics.
Microb Biotechnol 2022;
15:1940-1942. [PMID:
35478431 PMCID:
PMC9249320 DOI:
10.1111/1751-7915.14065]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on archived medical records and evolutionary modelling, a Coronavirus has been hypothesized as root and causative agent of the so‐called ‘Russian Flu’ pandemic that surged in 1889–1890. In a Correspondence published in this volume of Microbial Biotechnology, Ramassy and colleagues try to support historical evidence by true experimental data using 'palaeoserology', a novel approach combining archaeology and modern immunological analysis. This Opinion piece tries to weigh arguments how strong such data may be, and where a refinement of methodology might be desirable before textbooks of medical history switch to call the 1890s pandemic ‘Russian Corona’.
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