Corpses of Vikings up to 1,400 years old prove that these Scandinavian warriors could have been infected with smallpox. Researchers believe they may have contributed to the spread of this viral disease.
1,200-year-old smallpox-infected Viking skeleton found in Öland, Sweden.
Officially declared eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980, smallpox has long plagued mankind. Out of ten people infected, three did not survive and the others very often went on with their lives disfigured or handicapped. In the 20th century alone, smallpox claimed nearly 300 million lives. Traces of this condition have recently been discovered on the corpses of several Vikings proving for the first time that it has plagued humanity for at least 1,400 years.
New strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons
Scientists from several countries have analyzed inert strains of the smallpox virus, found in the teeth of Vikings who died in several places in northern Europe:11 burial sites in Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United Kingdom and on the island of Oland (Sweden). The genome of these strains could then be sequenced. "We discovered new strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons and found that their genetic structure is different from that of the modern smallpox virus eradicated in the 20th century , explains Professor Eske Willerslev in a press release. We already knew Vikings roamed across Europe and beyond, and now we know they had smallpox ". The comparison with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which killed more than 600,000 people worldwide, is then easy. "People traveling around the world quickly spread Covid-19 and it is therefore likely that the Vikings spread smallpox, continues the Danish scientist. The difference is that at that time they traveled by boat rather than by plane ".
Vikings massacred in the 10th century and found in a mass grave at St John's College, Oxford (UK). Credit: Thames Valley Archaeological Services
However, there is no evidence today that this viral disease was as ruthless in the Viking Age as it was in the 20th century. Besides, the individuals included in the study may not have died because of their contamination. However, they "certainly died with smallpox in their blood so that we could detect it up to 1,400 years later, comments a second author, Professor Martin Sikora. It's also very likely that there were earlier outbreaks, but scientists haven't yet discovered evidence of them ".
Understanding the evolution of the smallpox virus
In addition to proving that these Scandinavian warriors were carriers of smallpox - another name for smallpox - the researchers' new findings published in a study published in the famous journal Science on July 23, 2020, help to expand scientists' knowledge of the evolution of the virus. While scientists actually believe it has been around for 10,000 years, until now there was no evidence of its presence until the 17th century. "What we know in 2020 about viruses and pathogens affecting humans today is just a small snapshot of what has plagued humans historically ", concludes Professor Willerslev.