“The Return of Napoleon” by Charles de Steuben (1788–1856)
It is already known, in detail, what the Army of Napoleon decimated in 1812. A new DNA analysis revealed that two pathogenic agents will have been the cause of most of Napoleon’s 300,000 deaths during his withdrawal from Russia.
When the Army of half a million men from Napoleon withdrew from Russia between October and December 1812, more than half of the men were decimated by disease, hunger and extreme cold.
Now, a state -of -the -art DNA analysis, on the fringes of a study recently in the BIORHIVIVEmanaged to need the pathogenic agents that contributed to the catastrophe.
Historical survivor reports suggest that typhus and trench fever were the main causes of death and disease between troops, which was confirmed by genetic tests performed almost two decades ago.
But now the new study went further and challenges previous beliefs. The investigators examined the DNA of the 13 of the soldiers buried in Vilnius, Lithuania, where many soldiers died during the withdrawal, and did not find tyo tips or trenches.
Two pathogenic agents in focus
Instead, the team confirmed the presence of Salmonella entericawhich causes paratyifoid fever, and Borrelia recurrentiswhich is transmitted by the lice of the body and causes recurring fever.
As detailed to, previous studies were based on a technique that amplifies specific DNA sequences that were already suspected.
Now a more advanced metagenomic analysis has been used, which can detect the genetic material of any pathogenic agents in a sample, which makes it much more comprehensive.
“In the light of our results, a reasonable scenario for the death of these soldiers would be a combination of fatigue, cold and various diseases, including paratyifoid fever and recurring fever transmitted by lice,” the investigators in the report quoted by the same magazine.
Even so, Sally Waseffrom the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, explained to New Scientist that the symptoms recorded in historical reports may correspond to various infectious diseases beyond those suggested in the new study.
The researcher says that it is now necessary to extend the analyzes to the most soldier, to confirm that diseases were present.
