Variola Virus in a 300-Year-Old Siberian Mummy

Biagini, Philippe; Thèves, Catherine; Balaresque, Patricia; Géraut, A.; Cannet, Catherine; Keyser, Christine; Nikolaeva, Dariya; Gérard, Pascale; Duchesne, Sylvie; Orlando, Ludovic; Willerslev, Eske; Alekseev, Anatoly N.; Micco, Philippe de; Ludes, Bertrand; Crubézy, Éric

doi:10.1056/nejmc1208124

Cited by 99 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The precision and accuracy of such estimates may be improved by inclusion of 'ancient' virus sequences that are evolutionarily distinct from current strains [2] and which, ideally, represent infections that occurred early in an epidemic. Notable viral sequences that have been obtained from archived sera or preserved tissue include the genome of the devastating 1918 'Spanish flu' H1N1 human influenza virus [3] and partial variola virus sequences obtained from a 300-year-old Siberian mummy [4]. Viral sequences such as these can be thought of as an 'archaeological record' of viral diversity, complementing the much more ancient viral 'fossil record' provided by endogenous viral elements [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary analysis of hepatitis C virus gene sequences from 1953

Gray

Tanaka

Takebe

et al. 2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Reconstructing the transmission history of infectious diseases in the absence of medical or epidemiological records often relies on the evolutionary analysis of pathogen genetic sequences. The precision of evolutionary estimates of epidemic history can be increased by the inclusion of sequences derived from ‘archived’ samples that are genetically distinct from contemporary strains. Historical sequences are especially valuable for viral pathogens that circulated for many years before being formally identified, including HIV and the hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, surprisingly few HCV isolates sampled before discovery of the virus in 1989 are currently available. Here, we report and analyse two HCV subgenomic sequences obtained from infected individuals in 1953, which represent the oldest genetic evidence of HCV infection. The pairwise genetic diversity between the two sequences indicates a substantial period of HCV transmission prior to the 1950s, and their inclusion in evolutionary analyses provides new estimates of the common ancestor of HCV in the USA. To explore and validate the evolutionary information provided by these sequences, we used a new phylogenetic molecular clock method to estimate the date of sampling of the archived strains, plus the dates of four more contemporary reference genomes. Despite the short fragments available, we conclude that the archived sequences are consistent with a proposed sampling date of 1953, although statistical uncertainty is large. Our cross-validation analyses suggest that the bias and low statistical power observed here likely arise from a combination of high evolutionary rate heterogeneity and an unstructured, star-like phylogeny. We expect that attempts to date other historical viruses under similar circumstances will meet similar problems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary analysis of hepatitis C virus gene sequences from 1953

Gray

Tanaka

Takebe

et al. 2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…The corpse yielded DNA closely related to more recent variola virus specimens. This finding provided further insight into the strain of variola that was circulating in northeastern Siberia during the late seventeenth or early eighteenth centuries ( 28 ). …”

Section: Historical and Scientific Accounts Of Specimensmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Historical specimens might also help explain the history of smallpox epidemics and vaccine development. Recent exhumation of a corpse from permafrost in Siberia led to sequence characterization of an older strain of variola virus, which shed light on the evolutionary history of the virus ( 28 ). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dating of the corpses to the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century matched with written accounts of smallpox epidemics in the local communities for one of the sites, but no live virus was obtained from these remains ( 28 , 30 ). The more recent archeologically excavated corpse was sampled as soon as graves and mummified remains were exposed to the surface.…”

Section: Historical and Scientific Accounts Of Specimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Poxvirus Viability and Signatures in Historical Relics

McCollum¹,

Liu²,

Wilkins³

et al. 2014

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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Although it has been >30 years since the eradication of smallpox, the unearthing of well-preserved tissue material in which the virus may reside has called into question the viability of variola virus decades or centuries after its original occurrence. Experimental data to address the long-term stability and viability of the virus are limited. There are several instances of well-preserved corpses and tissues that have been examined for poxvirus viability and viral DNA. These historical specimens cause concern for potential exposures, and each situation should be approached cautiously and independently with the available information. Nevertheless, these specimens provide information on the history of a major disease and vaccination against it.

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“…The DNA was too degraded for the scientists to reconstruct its entire sequence, but there was enough to show that it was a separate strain from those that circulated widely in Europe and Asia during the twentieth century. The scraps of DNA allowed the researchers to expand our knowledge of the evolutionary history of the smallpox virus, and such studies could eventually help to show how it spread around the world 5 .…”

Section: Siberian Mummiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infectious diseases: Smallpox watch

Reardon¹

2014

Nature

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Variola Virus in a 300-Year-Old Siberian Mummy

Cited by 99 publications

References 2 publications

Evolutionary analysis of hepatitis C virus gene sequences from 1953

Evolutionary analysis of hepatitis C virus gene sequences from 1953

Poxvirus Viability and Signatures in Historical Relics

Infectious diseases: Smallpox watch

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