Bones hold the key to DNA virus history and epidemiology.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Toppinen M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4661702 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Bones hold the key to DNA virus history and epidemiology.
Toppinen M M Perdomo M F MF Palo J U JU Simmonds P P Lycett S J SJ Söderlund-Venermo M M Sajantila A A Hedman K K
Scientific reports 20151127
DNA in human skeletal remains represents an important historical source of host genomic information and potentially of infecting viruses. However, little is known about viral persistence in bone. We searched ca. 70-year-old long bones of putative Finnish casualties from World War II for parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA, and found a remarkable prevalence of 45%. The viral sequences were exclusively of genotypes 2 (n = 41), which disappeared from circulation in 1970´s, or genotype 3 (n = 2), which has ne ...[more]
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