Ancient DNA links smallpox
Two infections found in ancestral remains in northern Chile add genetic evidence on smallpox's path
Researchers found smallpox DNA in ancestral remains of two adults at Camarones in northern Chile, a finding that offers the firmest evidence yet that European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas. The Associated Press reported that the adults likely died between 1492 and 1631.
Genetic comparisons placed the virus between medieval European strains and later versions, indicating that strains infecting people in the Americas evolved from European strains. Shigeki Nakagome, a Trinity College Dublin geneticist, said the work shows how colonization reached remote populations.
Biologist Patricia Foster was quoted as saying, “Nobody would ever question that smallpox came to this hemisphere from colonization, but this proves it.” The study authors said it remains unclear which population brought smallpox. The infections were found in an area without a previous disease record, raising questions about how the virus reached so far south.
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