Scientists have discovered extinct strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons – proving for the first time that the killer disease plagued humanity for at least 1400 years.

A 1200-year-old smallpox-infected Viking skeleton found in Oland, Sweden
[Credit: The Swedish National Heritage Board]Smallpox spread from person to person via infectious droplets, killed around a third of sufferers and left another third permanently…

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Source: archeo