Hemorrhagic fever in Iron Age Germany

Well, this is a shocker.

See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5080-161209-pottery-organs-virus


[FONT=arial-black_b]Traces of a Deadly Virus Detected in Celtic Pottery

"[/FONT]WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA—Science Magazinereports that traces of human remains and a deadly virus have been detected in pottery unearthed at Heuneburg, an Iron Age hillfort in Germany. A team led by Conner Wiktorowicz of Purdue University washed the pottery fragments with detergent to remove any residues on them, and then isolated and analyzed protein fragments in the residues. The results were compared to a national protein database, revealing that the pots contained human blood and organs. This is the first time that archaeologists have encountered human remains in pottery vessels in this region during the period between 600 and 450 B.C. Additional proteins in the residues suggest that the individual had Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, which is transmitted by ticks. Scholars now want to know if there was an epidemic of the disease in Iron Age Germany. The investigation also shows that protein analysis could help scientists identify other ancient viruses, which are usually studied through their nucleic acids. “Recovering nucleic acids from ancient viruses is extremely difficult and plagued by contamination,” says forensic anthropologist Angelique Corthals of the City University of New York. “Virus proteins are more readily accessible and less prone to degradation.”

This is a really scary virus. One thing I don't understand is why you have it in Greece and the Balkans but not in the west, like Italy or Spain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean–Congo_hemorrhagic_fever

"The main environmental reservoir for the virus is small mammals (particularly European hare, Middle-African hedgehogs and multimammate rats). Ticks carry the virus to domestic animal stock. Sheep, goats and cattle develop high titers of virus in blood, but tend not to fall ill. Birds are generally resistant with the exception of ostriches."

"Based on the sequence data seven genotypes have been recognised: Africa 1 (Senegal), Africa 2 (Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa), Africa 3 (southern and western Africa), Europe 1 (Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Russia and Turkey), Europe 2 (Greece), Asia 1 (the Middle East, Iran and Pakistan) and Asia 2 (China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan)."

I wonder if this was still around when the Germanic invasions began after the fall of Rome. If it was, it would explain some of the de-population at that period.

First post, greetings to all.

This viral hemorrhagic fever seems to be found all over the Afro-Eurasian super-continent and its sundry nations. Wonder then why whomever(?) picked on the Crimea and Congo(s) to give the world the headlinelike title: "Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever". Wonder if decision-making - like the official naming of viruses are ever logged? Seems like the namegivers straightforwardly went with the weakest two(?) nation (Congo) said to be linked with the aforesaid fever, with Crimea's sin seemingly being its links with its Russian 'motherbogeyland'. Anyway, one hopes the government agencies of the Congos and Russia see to it, that the hand-picking of their nations names isn't some kind of foreshadowing/predictive programming - should NATO ever need to engineer some future outbreaks in the abodes of the Congo and the Crimea.

Bytheway, has Marburg-Ebola hermorrhagic fever been known to be found off oldentimes potsherd?

I see. It's all anti-slavic propaganda, or anti-European propaganda, is it?

Most people, especially most western scientists, don't look through these kinds of distortion lenses, hard as it may be for some people to accept.

The actual history of the identification of the virus is very clear.

"The disease was known as "Crimean fever" during the Crimean War, and was contracted by many, including Florence Nightingale.^[33] Soviet scientists first identified the disease they called Crimean hemorrhagic fever in 1944 in Crimea^[34] and established its viral etiology by passage of the virus through human "volunteers" (fatality rate unreported), but were unable to isolate the agent at that time.^[35]"

"Four months earlier, virologists Jack Woodall, David Simpson and others had published initial reports^[37][38] on a virus they called the Congo virus, first isolated in 1956 by physician Ghislaine Courtois, head of the Provincial Medical Laboratory, Stanleyville, Belgian Congo."

"Chumakov later sent his strain to the RFVL, where it was found to be identical to the Congo virus.^[39]

If you would read the following article you would see that in agreement with the order of the identification locations the scientists proposed calling it the Congo-Crimea fever. The Russians insisted that the Crimea be listed first.

See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean–Congo_hemorrhagic_fever

So, if you have a problem with a Russian area being listed first, perhaps you should take it up with your compatriots.

Sorry, but I'm even moreso keeping an open-mind. You reply made things worst.

An open mind about what?

I don't understand the confusion. The article couldn't be more clear.

The effects of the virus were first described in the Crimea in the 19th century. The virus was isolated by Russian scientists and scientists in the Congo at about the same time, but the scientists in the Congo actually were the first, by about four months. According to the protocols, it could have been named after the discoverers or some other way. The name first chosen was Congo-Crimea hemorrhagic fever for the two places where it was isolated with the Congo listed first because the scientists there actually isolated it first. The Russian scientists fought that because they wanted the name Crimea to come first and they won.

I fail to see what is so confusing. Is it a language issue? Perhaps you should try another translator.