UCD Finds 1,000-Year-Old Sheeppox DNA in York Gospels, Tracing Virus Back 3,700 Years
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 1
UCD Finds 1,000-Year-Old Sheeppox DNA in York Gospels, Tracing Virus Back 3,700 Years
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 1
Summary
Science Advances research by UCD found sheeppox virus DNA in the parchment pages of the 1,000-year-old York Gospels, turning the manuscript into evidence of an ancient livestock disease.
DNA from calfskin and goatskin pages suggests either cross-species infection or contamination during parchment production, showing manuscripts can preserve animal pathogen traces for centuries.
Bronze Age sheep teeth provided the comparison that pushed the virus's documented history back more than 3,700 years and indicated the sheeppox genome stayed relatively stable over millennia.
Sheeppox does not infect humans but can spread rapidly through flocks, kill young animals and cut wool, meat and milk output; the lead author said an outbreak is currently causing economic damage in Greece.
The finding adds to a wider wave of ancient-DNA disease studies, suggesting archives and libraries could hold overlooked genetic records of past animal outbreaks.