Oxford Researchers Uncover Justinian Plague Pathogen, Linking It to Black Death Bacterium

 Researchers from Oxford University in the UK have for the first time recovered the causative agent of the Justinian plague, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history.

The Justinian plague claimed the lives of about 25 million people in Europe in the sixth and seventh centuries. A paper about her has been published in the journal Nature.

The project was led by Professor of Microbiology Thorvald Bjornsson. He argues that the reconstruction of the genome of an ancient pathogen provides new opportunities for the study of historical epidemics. The analysis demonstrated that the causative agent of the Justinian plague is identical to the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which caused the "Black Death" in the 14th century.

The mask of the Plague Doctor