Palaeoserology - teeth put into ancient plagues and pandemics

Abstract

Based on archived medical records and evolutionary modelling, a Coronavirus has been hypothesized as root and causative agent of the so-called 'Russian Flu' pandemic that surged in 1889-1890. In a Correspondence published in this volume of Microbial Biotechnology, Ramassy and colleagues try to support historical evidence by true experimental data using 'palaeoserology', a novel approach combining archaeology and modern immunological analysis. This Opinion piece tries to weigh arguments how strong such data may be, and where a refinement of methodology might be desirable before textbooks of medical history switch to call the 1890s pandemic 'Russian Corona'.