As a result of a study on herpes, a microbial infection that occurs due to the herpes simplex virus and usually occurs with sores on the lips, mouth or gums, very interesting information was obtained. As a result of studies conducted in the past years, it was revealed that herpes triggered Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the latest studies, it is stated that herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), which is the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), which appears in various parts of our face today, emerged about 5,000 years ago, due to the great migrations from Eurasia to Europe and the resulting population explosions. But there is an even more interesting reason why herpes is so widespread. Kissing too.
The reason for the appearance of herpes can be kissing
The authors of the study, published in the journal Science Advances on herpes, which date back to millions of years, announced that they obtained one of the oldest samples of herpes DNA from an adult male who lived in the late 14th century and had terrible dental abscesses. It is said that the herpes found in the DNA of the adult male and found on his face may have emerged around the same time as the emergence of a practice taken from another culture, namely kissing.
The team that carried out the study was able to extract the DNA of herpes and tooth roots from the remains of four people with a thousand-year history. Stating that herpes often occurs due to oral infections, the team explained that they found that at least two of the people examined had gum disease and the other was smoking.
Cadavers from around the world were examined to investigate the history of the herpes.
Among the cadavers examined in the study, the oldest was a male found as a result of excavations in the Ural Mountain region of Russia and estimated to have lived in the late Iron Age, about 1,500 years ago. Two other specimens were found in England, and one was found in an early Anglo-Saxon cemetery, 6-7 AD. She was a woman estimated to have lived for centuries. The other was a young adult male, presumed to have lived in the late 14th century, with gruesome dental abscesses, as you can see in the photo above. The last cadaver to be studied was a smoker in the Netherlands, who was estimated to have lived in the 1670s.
Explaining that they scanned ancient DNA samples from nearly 3,000 archaeological finds and were able to detect only four herpes, the team said that by comparing ancient DNA with herpes samples from the 20th century, they were able to analyze the differences and predict a mutation rate and therefore a timeline for virus evolution.
Stating that each primate species has a different form of herpes, experts estimate that this is why humans have had a unique form since they left Africa. However, the team thinks kissing was the likely cause of a different type of herpes being passed on to other people about five thousand years ago. In addition, the team announced that they will deepen their work to investigate the history of the herpes.