Virus may have received a boost from rise of kissing that came with westward migrations 4,500 years ago
The herpes variants that cause modern cold sores became widespread in the wake of bronze age migrations, and may have received a boost from the practice of kissing that came with it, researchers say.
“The variants around in Europe today all share an ancestor in the bronze age,” said Dr Charlotte Houldcroft, a virologist on the study. “There were variants around before that, but those have been replaced, probably because of human behaviour.” Analysis of the ancient DNA showed that the herpes virus then was remarkably similar to the virus seen today and could be traced back to the bronze age. The timing coincides with vast migrations into Europe from the grasslands of Eurasia and a population boom that could have sent transmission rates soaring.
“If you suddenly have a group of people who are kissing, which was not a universal human behaviour, that is an extra way to spread the virus,” said Houldcroft.
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