Measles Appeared Nearly 2,500 Years Ago, Not 1,000, According to Robert Koch Institute Researchers

Researchers at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany examined the lungs of a patient who died of measles in 1912 and concluded that the virus was not 1,000 years old, as previously assumed but almost 2500.

Measles

Measles

Measles, a highly contagious disease, was responsible for 140,000 deaths worldwide in 2018, according to new estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Read Also: Polio, Measles, and Dengue Overlooked Because of the Current Pandemic

Although there is still no cure, measles is far from being a new disease: it is said to be even older than Jesus Christ! A new study by virologists at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin underlines this fact. In the journal Science, they explain that they have discovered that the virus does not originate from the late 9th century as previously assumed but from around 528 BC.

The emergence of cities Played a big role in the spread of measles

How could there be such a huge discrepancy, of more than 1,000 years? They first questioned the first description of measles, which goes back to a 10th-century Persian text: “Old medical texts are not a very accurate source of information. Clinical descriptions are very incomplete and it is difficult to distinguish whether an author is talking about measles, smallpox, or any other disease,” said Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer, a virologist at the Robert Koch Institute, who is quoted in Le Figaro.

Read Also: Measles Temporarily Wipes Out The Immune System According To Study

Derived from rinderpest (also known as cattle plague or steppe murrain), with which it shares many similarities, measles is believed to have indeed occurred more than 2,500 years ago, when large cities with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants were built, particularly in China, India, North Africa, and Europe. This has allowed the virus to circulate for hundreds of years without ever reaching an impasse in which it runs out of new subjects to infect.

It was the lung collection of the Berlin Museum of Medical History that led the virologists on this path. They analyzed the lungs of a two-year-old girl who died of measles in 1912. To date, this is the oldest measles virus genome ever analyzed. The researchers were able to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree of the virus by comparing it with the genomes of other viruses and modern animal viruses. “Measles probably spread from animals to humans several times,” says Sebastian Duchêne, co-author of the paper. Until the 1990s, it could eventually only infect humans and cause major epidemics.

Read Also: Measles About to Break Record in the U.S. This Year Due to a Large Outbreak

FAQ: Measles and Its Origins

1. How old is the measles virus?
New research suggests that measles originated around 528 BC, much earlier than the previously assumed late 9th century.

2. How did researchers determine the age of measles?
Scientists analyzed the lungs of a patient who died in 1912, reconstructing the virus’s genetic history and comparing it with modern animal viruses.

3. Why was the age of measles previously miscalculated?
Earlier estimates were based on historical descriptions from Persian medical texts, which were inaccurate due to similarities with diseases like smallpox.

4. How did cities contribute to measles spread?
The growth of large cities in ancient China, India, North Africa, and Europe allowed the virus to continuously infect new hosts, preventing it from dying out.

5. What is the connection between measles and rinderpest?
Measles likely evolved from rinderpest, a cattle virus, and jumped to humans multiple times before becoming an exclusive human disease.

6. What is the significance of the 1912 lung sample?
The lungs from a child who died of measles in 1912 provided the oldest measles genome ever analyzed, helping researchers trace its evolution.

References

Düx, A., Lequime, S., Patrono, L. V., Vrancken, B., Boral, S., Gogarten, J. F., Hilbig, A., Horst, D., Merkel, K., & Calvignac-Spencer, S., et al. (2020). Measles virus and rinderpest virus divergence dated to the sixth century BCE. Science, 368(6497), 1367-1370. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9411

Roy, S. (2020, June 18). La rougeole, beaucoup plus vieille qu’on ne le pensait. Le Figaro. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/la-rougeole-beaucoup-plus-vieille-qu-on-ne-le-pensait-20200618

FEEDBACK:

Want to live your best life?

Get the Gilmore Health Weekly newsletter for health tips, wellness updates and more.

By clicking "Subscribe," I agree to the Gilmore Health and . I also agree to receive emails from Gilmore Health and I understand that I may opt out of Gilmore Health subscriptions at any time.