{
  "id": 7456263,
  "title": "Plague was killing entire families thousands of years before the Black Death",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/plague-was-killing-entire-families-thousands-of-years-before-the-7456263",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-15T02:54:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ScienceDaily Health",
    "slug": "sciencedaily-health",
    "url": "https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260913082203.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New research published in Nature indicates that the deadly bacterium Yersinia pestis, responsible for the plague, was already causing widespread fatalities 5,500 years ago among small, mobile hunter-gatherer groups in East Siberia. This discovery, made by an international team of scientists, challenges previous assumptions that plague outbreaks were primarily associated with crowded urban environments. By analyzing ancient DNA recovered from human remains at four burial sites, the researchers identified early forms of the plague bacterium and determined that these ancient strains were highly lethal. The analysis of the genetic relationships between the victims, along with archaeological and radiocarbon dating evidence, paints a clear picture of the devastating impact of these prehistoric outbreaks. The findings suggest that some of the earliest known plague outbreaks may have been as deadly as later historical epidemics, particularly for children, even before the bacterium developed efficient flea-based transmission methods. The presence of a distinctive superantigen in the ancient strains further highlights the potential for severe inflammation and increased lethality. These results support the theory that plague may have first emerged in Central or North-East Asia before spreading to other parts of Eurasia via populations of wild rodents, including marmots, which still carry the bacterium today.",
  "summary": "Ancient DNA reveals that plague was already killing hunter-gatherers in Siberia 5,500 years ago, long before cities and flea-driven epidemics. The prehistoric strains may have been especially dangerous because they carried a genetic factor capable of provoking severe immune reactions.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ScienceDaily",
        "title": "Plague was killing entire families thousands of years before the Black Death",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/plague-was-killing-entire-families-thousands-of-years-before-the",
        "published": "2026-09-15T02:54:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}