Evidence for Louse-Transmitted Diseases in Soldiers of Napoleon’s Grand Army in Vilnius

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 2006-01, Vol.193 (1), p.112-120
• Main Authors: Raoult, Didier, Dutour, Olivier, Houhamdi, Linda, Jankauskas, Rimantas, Fournier, Pierre-Edouard, Ardagna, Yann, Drancourt, Michel, Signoli, Michel, La, Vu Dang, Macia, Yves, Aboudharam, Gérard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria; Bartonella quintana; Bartonella quintana - classification; Bartonella quintana - genetics; Bartonella quintana - isolation & purification; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Dental Pulp - microbiology; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - analysis; Epidemic louse borne typhus; France - epidemiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; History, 19th Century; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Infectious diseases; Lice; Lice Infestations - complications; Lice Infestations - epidemiology; Lice Infestations - history; Lithuania - epidemiology; Male; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Military Personnel - history; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleotides; Paleodontology; Pathogens; Pediculus - microbiology; Phthiraptera; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rickettsia prowazekii; Rickettsia prowazekii - classification; Rickettsia prowazekii - genetics; Rickettsia prowazekii - isolation & purification; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Skeleton; Soldiers; Suicide; Tooth pulp; Trench Fever - epidemiology; Trench Fever - history; Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne - epidemiology; Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne - history
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/498534

BackgroundMany soldiers in Napoleon’s Grand Army died of infectious diseases during its retreat from Russia. Because soldiers were commonly infested with body lice, it has been speculated that louse-borne infectious diseases, such as epidemic typhus (caused by Rickettsia prowazekii), were common MethodsWe investigated this possibility during recent excavations of a mass grave of Napoleon’s soldiers in Vilnius, Lithuania. Segments of 5 body lice, identified morphologically and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing, were found in earth from the grave that also contained fragments of soldiers’ uniforms ResultsDNA of Bartonella quintana (the agent of trench fever) was identified by PCR and sequencing in 3 of the lice. Similarly, PCR and sequencing of dental pulp from the remains of 35 soldiers revealed DNA of B. quintana in 7 soldiers and DNA of R. prowazekii in 3 other soldiers ConclusionsOur results show that louse-borne infectious diseases affected nearly one-third of Napoleon’s soldiers buried in Vilnius and indicate that these diseases might have been a major factor in the French retreat from Russia