4,000 Yr Old Tooth

Bartonella quintana in a 4,000-year-old human tooth

J Infect Dis. 2005 Feb 15;191(4):607-11. Epub 2005 Jan 10.

Bartonella quintana in a 4000-year-old human tooth.

Drancourt M, Tran-Hung L, Courtin J, Lumley H, Raoult D

Unite des Rickettsies, CNR UMR 6020, IFR 48, Marseille, France.

Bacteria of the genus Bartonella are transmitted by ectoparasites (lice, fleas, ticks) and have mammalian reservoirs in which they cause chronic, asymptomatic bacteremia. Humans are the reservoir of B. quintana, the louse-borne agent of trench fever. We detected DNA of B. quintana in the dental pulp of a person who died 4000 years ago. PMID: 15655785 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]