The landmark discovery, led by an interdisciplinary team at the University of South Florida⁣ and Florida atlantic University, with collaborators in ⁣India and Australia, ⁤identified Yersinia pestis, the microbe that causes plague, in a mass grave at the ancient city of Jerash, Jordan, near the pandemic’s epicenter. The groundbreaking find definitively links the pathogen to the Justinian Plague marking the first pandemic‍ (AD⁣ 541-750), resolving one of history’s ‍long-standing mysteries.

For centuries, historians have deliberated on what caused the devastating outbreak that‍ killed tens of millions, reshaped the Byzantine Empire and altered the course of Western⁤ civilization. Despite circumstantial evidence, direct proof ⁣of the responsible‍ microbe had remained elusive –⁢ a missing link in the story of pandemics.

Two ⁣newly published papers led by ‍USF and FAU provide these long-sought answers,offering new insight into one ⁤of the moast ‍consequential episodes in human ⁢history. The discovery⁤ also underscores plague’s ongoing relevance today: ‍while rare, ⁤ Y. Pestis continues to circulate worldwide. In July, a resident of northern ⁣Arizona‍ died from pneumonic plague, the most lethal form of ⁤ Y.⁢ Pestis infection, marking the first such fatality in the U.S. since‍ 2007, and just last ‍week another individual in California tested positive for the disease.

“This discovery⁢ provides the long-sought definitive proof of Y. Pestis at the epicenter ⁢of the Plague of Justinian,” said Rays H.Y. Jiang, PhD, lead PI of the studies and associate professor with the ⁣USF College of Public Health.”For centuries,we’ve relied on written accounts describing a⁢ devastating disease,but lacked any hard biological evidence of plague’s presence. our findings provide the missing piece of ⁤that puzzle, offering the first direct genetic window⁣ into how this‍ pandemic unfolded at the heart of the empire.”

The Plague of Justinian first appeared in the historical record in Pelusium⁤ (present