A large international team of researchers has discovered a previously unknown level of diversity in the Justinianic Plague (also known as the First Pandemic). In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of the bacteria Yersinia pestis and what they learned about it.
Y. pestis is the bacteriaresponsible for several plagues throughout history. It was the source of the bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plagues. In this new effort, the researchers were interested in learning more about the first known pandemic that came about due to Y. pestis infections. That plague, which ran from approximately 541 to 750, was named after the Roman Emperor Justinian I. Some historians have suggested it may have killed approximately 25 percent of the population of the Roman Empire.
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