Autoimmune Diseases Tied to Genes of Black Death Survivors, Study Says

November 2, 2022

(Washington Post) – Four DNA variants appear to have helped boost survival rates from the plague — caused by a bacterium, “Yersinia pestis,” carried by small mammals and their fleas — in the mid-1300s and in recurring bouts of plague in later centuries, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature.  Researchers from the University of Chicago, McMaster University in Ontario and the Pasteur Institute in Paris say at least two of those variants associated with surviving the Black Death can be linked to autoimmune conditions common in modern society — including Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. (Read More)