BACKGROUND: Many soldiers in Napoleon's Grand Army died of infectious diseases during its retreat from Russia. Because soldiers were commonly infested with body lice, it has been speculated that louse-borne infectious diseases, such as epidemic typhus (caused by Rickettsia prowazekii), were common. METHODS: We investigated this possibility during recent excavations of a mass grave of Napoleon's soldiers in Vilnius, Lithuania. Segments of 5 body lice, identified morphologically and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing, were found in earth from the grave that also contained fragments of soldiers' uniforms. RESULTS: DNA of Bartonella quintana (the agent of trench fever) was identified by PCR and sequencing in 3 of the lice. Similarly, PCR and sequencing of dental pulp from the remains of 35 soldiers revealed DNA of B. quintana in 7 soldiers and DNA of R. prowazekii in 3 other soldiers. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that louse-borne infectious diseases affected nearly one-third of Napoleon's soldiers buried in Vilnius and indicate that these diseases might have been a major factor in the French retreat from Russia.
BACKGROUND: Many soldiers in Napoleon's Grand Army died of infectious diseases during its retreat from Russia. Because soldiers were commonly infested with body lice, it has been speculated that louse-borne infectious diseases, such as epidemic typhus (caused by Rickettsia prowazekii), were common. METHODS: We investigated this possibility during recent excavations of a mass grave of Napoleon's soldiers in Vilnius, Lithuania. Segments of 5 body lice, identified morphologically and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing, were found in earth from the grave that also contained fragments of soldiers' uniforms. RESULTS: DNA of Bartonella quintana (the agent of trench fever) was identified by PCR and sequencing in 3 of the lice. Similarly, PCR and sequencing of dental pulp from the remains of 35 soldiers revealed DNA of B. quintana in 7 soldiers and DNA of R. prowazekii in 3 other soldiers. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that louse-borne infectious diseases affected nearly one-third of Napoleon's soldiers buried in Vilnius and indicate that these diseases might have been a major factor in the French retreat from Russia.
Authors: Margit Semmler; Fathy Abdel-Ghaffar; Falk Gestmann; Mohammed Abdel-Aty; Ibrahim Rizk; Saleh Al-Quraishy; Walter Lehmacher; Norman-Philipp Hoff Journal: Parasitol Res Date: 2017-05-09 Impact factor: 2.289
Authors: Ewen F Kirkness; Brian J Haas; Weilin Sun; Henk R Braig; M Alejandra Perotti; John M Clark; Si Hyeock Lee; Hugh M Robertson; Ryan C Kennedy; Eran Elhaik; Daniel Gerlach; Evgenia V Kriventseva; Christine G Elsik; Dan Graur; Catherine A Hill; Jan A Veenstra; Brian Walenz; José Manuel C Tubío; José M C Ribeiro; Julio Rozas; J Spencer Johnston; Justin T Reese; Aleksandar Popadic; Marta Tojo; Didier Raoult; David L Reed; Yoshinori Tomoyasu; Emily Kraus; Emily Krause; Omprakash Mittapalli; Venu M Margam; Hong-Mei Li; Jason M Meyer; Reed M Johnson; Jeanne Romero-Severson; Janice Pagel Vanzee; David Alvarez-Ponce; Filipe G Vieira; Montserrat Aguadé; Sara Guirao-Rico; Juan M Anzola; Kyong S Yoon; Joseph P Strycharz; Maria F Unger; Scott Christley; Neil F Lobo; Manfredo J Seufferheld; Naikuan Wang; Gregory A Dasch; Claudio J Struchiner; Greg Madey; Linda I Hannick; Shelby Bidwell; Vinita Joardar; Elisabet Caler; Renfu Shao; Stephen C Barker; Stephen Cameron; Robert V Bruggner; Allison Regier; Justin Johnson; Lakshmi Viswanathan; Terry R Utterback; Granger G Sutton; Daniel Lawson; Robert M Waterhouse; J Craig Venter; Robert L Strausberg; May R Berenbaum; Frank H Collins; Evgeny M Zdobnov; Barry R Pittendrigh Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2010-06-21 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Francisco Rodríguez-Frías; Josep Quer; David Tabernero; Maria Francesca Cortese; Selene Garcia-Garcia; Ariadna Rando-Segura; Tomas Pumarola Journal: Microorganisms Date: 2021-12-06