Oldest signs of Hepatitis B found in 4500-year-old skeletons
An extinct strain of the human Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been discovered in Bronze Age human skeletons found in burial sites across Europe and Asia. Among the 12 skeletons, the oldest HBV genome was found to be 4,500 years old. The previous oldest HBV genome was 450 years old while estimates have ranged up to 34,000 years, noted researchers.