Brief communication: Evidence of Bartonella quintana infections in skeletons of a historical mass grave in Kassel, Germany

Abstract

In 2008, a mass grave was found on the grounds of the University of Kassel, Germany. Historians hypothesized that the individuals died in a typhoid fever epidemic in winter 1813/14. To test this hypothesis, the bones were investigated on the presence of specific DNA of pathogens linked to the historical diagnosis oftyphoid fever. It was possible to prove the specific DNA of Bartonella quintana in three individuals, suggesting that their cause of death is linked to an epidemic background.

A new miniSTR heptaplex system for genetic fingerprinting of ancient DNA from archaeological human bone

“…Five individuals are from a mass grave in Kassel (KS, Germany) from the beginning of the 19th Century, for which an epidemic background in the context of the retreat of Table 1 Primer sequences, dye labelling, and product lengths of the miniSTR multiplex. Napoleon's troops is presumed (Grumbkow et al, 2011). The fourth skeletal series is from a Chullpa (stone walled grave tower) located at the site of Tranca (TA) in the Peruvian highlands, dating back to approximately 800 AD.…”

A 2,000-year-old specimen with intraerythrocyticBartonella quintana

“…Accordingly, the dental pulp samples were stained using 4’,6’-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), a DNA-binding dye, here used to screen erythrocytes for the presence of exogenous, presumably bacterial, DNA. Indeed, B. quintana is acknowledged as such an intraerythrocytic organism 36 , which has been previously detected in ancient dental pulps and bones collected in several archaeological sites in France 37–41 . Erythrocyte autofluorescence (anticipated to interfere with the FISH detection of B. quintana ) was not observed in erythrocytes, which exhibited a flat morphology (Fig.…”

Five millennia of Bartonella quintana bacteraemia

“…In addition to dental pulp, B . quintana was detected in ancient bone (1813–1814) [ 13 ] and coprolites (14th) century [ 22 ]. The bacterial confirmation in ancient pulp indicates that individuals had bacteraemia before their death, but it may not have been the cause of death, supporting the fact that no deaths have been recognised as being caused by trench fever [ 2 , 5 , 24 ].…”

“…The presence of trench fever can be traced back to the military in Europe before the First World War, when B . quintana DNA sequences were found in dental pulp from Napoleonic soldiers in Vilnius (1812) [ 12 ], and in bone from soldiers in Kassel (1813–814) [ 13 ]. Indeed, dental pulp with high vascularity has been the definitive key to diagnosing bacteraemia caused by microorganisms in paleomicrobiology [ 14 ].…”