The Black Death decimated the world’s population seven centuries ago, but its origin is still hotly debated. A new study in Nature claims to identify the Black Death’s original strain from 14th century central Asia. It chases a trail of archaeological and ancient DNA evidence and provides a long-awaited origin story for history’s deadliest epidemic.
The Black Death ravaged Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa between 1347 and 1352. While experts debate the exact death toll, they estimate a range from 25 million to 200 million casualties – somewhere between five percent and 40 percent of the world’s population.
Once contracted, the Black Death killed 70 to 80 percent of its hosts – the vast majority of whom died within just five days. Those five days were brutal on the victims.
Their body temperatures soared to high fevers, leading to chills, aches and delirium. They developed painful swellings in ...
