Researchers identified genetic traces of paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever in soldiers from Napoleon's army during the 1812 retreat.
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The study suggests these infections contributed to the collapse of the Grande Armée, which lost hundreds of thousands to illness and exposure.
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Ancient DNA was extracted from teeth of 13 soldiers in a mass grave in Vilnius, confirming the presence of Salmonella enterica and Borrelia recurrentis.
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Historical accounts describe symptoms consistent with paratyphoid infection, complicating clinical differentiation from other diseases like typhus.
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The findings underscore the importance of ancient DNA analysis in understanding historical disease outbreaks and their impacts.
