Did Salmonella Outbreak Kill the Aztec Community?

A new study has revealed that the Aztec civilization was ravaged by a salmonella outbreak.

History notes that the Aztec community was reduced from 25 million to 1 million a century after the arrival of Spaniards in Mexico in 1519. The population devastation was blamed in an outbreak of disease, which they call cocoliztli for the word "pestilence." One of the most devastating outbreaks which wiped out more than 80 percent of their population occurred between 1545 and 1550, History.com reported.

Until now, there has been no solid evidence that could prove what caused the epidemic.

The team of researchers lead by Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany presented the first DNA evidence of bacteria found in the teeth of victims killed by the 1545-1550 outbreak, in a paper pre-printed on server bioRxiv.

The bodies were dug in the Oaxacan highlands of Mexico, where they were buried after an outbreak around 1550.

Comparing the bacterial DNA to more than 2,700 modern bacterial genomes, they have found out that some of the bacterial DNA matches the bacteria genus Salmonella. Sequencing these samples showed they were Paratyphi C.

As noted by Science Alert, Paratyphi C. is rare, but is still present today. In worst cases, it could kill up to 15 percent of those who are infected. It is spread through faecal matter and causes a typhus-like illness.

Paratyhpi C was found to have descended from swine pathogens, and has been infecting humans for at least 1,000 years, IB Times notes.

Centers for Disease Control reported that at present, Salmonella is estimated to cause one million foodborne illnesses in the U.S. every year, with 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths. Children under the age of five are more at risk of contamination. Safe food handling and constantly hand washing may reduce the likelihood of spreading the infection.

Meanwhile, the paper is still waiting to be peer-reviewed.