Ancient pathogens and paleoepidemiology

Blevins, Kelly E.

Abstract

The recovery of ancient pathogen genomes has greatly improved our understanding of infectious disease in the past. This chapter reviews the timeline and methodological advancements of pathogen paleogenomics and current sampling, labora-tory, bioinformatic, and analytical approaches to demonstrate how and why we recover ancient pathogen genomes. I also describe the overlap and integration of pathogen paleogenomics with the encompassing fields of paleopathology and paleoepidemiology. I highlight how major findings are applicable to our understanding of infectious disease biology today. Lastly, I emphasize the ethical considerations and obligations of studying disease in the past.

Citation

Blevins, K. E. (2024). Ancient pathogens and paleoepidemiology. In Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-99931-1.00202-6

• Online Publication Date: Apr 12, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 19, 2024
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Book Title: Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences
• ISBN: 9780124095489
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-99931-1.00202-6
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2389853