{"data":{"id":2409,"lang":"en","title":"Ancient DNA Shows Plague Kept Returning to Europe for 400 Years After the Black Death","summary":"University of Tartu researchers sequenced 26 plague genomes from 11 sites and show Yersinia pestis kept re-entering Europe for over 400 years, driven by trade, migration and war.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-09-20T22:01:05Z","updated_at":"2026-09-20T22:01:05Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2409-ancient-dna-shows-plague-kept-returning-to-europe-for-400-years-after-the-black","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2409?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2409.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2026/a-sharper-picture-of-a.jpg","word_count":146,"reading_time_minutes":1,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260919031025.htm","domain":"sciencedaily.com"},{"url":"https://phys.org/news/2026-09-sharper-picture-pandemic-uncovering-complex.html","domain":"phys.org"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":2482,"title":"Prastará DNA ukázala, že mor se do Evropy vracel dalších 400 let po černé smrti","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2482-prastara-dna-ukazala-ze-mor-se-do-evropy-vracel-dalsich-400-let-po-cerne-smrti","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2482?lang=cs"},"content":"University of Tartu researchers reconstructed 26 Yersinia pestis genomes from 11 archaeological sites in Estonia, Russia, England, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The samples span the 14th to 18th centuries, covering much of the Second Plague Pandemic. The study appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.\n\nThe team found a major expansion of plague lineages around 1450-1500, when the bacterium split into three important branches, possibly by establishing new rodent reservoirs. Estonia saw repeated introductions of plague starting in the late 14th century, and a new dating method tied many genomes to specific outbreaks recorded in historical sources.\n\nThe data links waves of disease to human activity, including the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and the Great Northern War (c. 1700-1721). The authors say understanding how plague took hold, persisted and eventually vanished from Europe could improve surveillance of infectious diseases that still circulate today."}}