More than 200 mummified bodies were found in a hidden crypt of the Dominican church in the city of Vác in Hungary during restoration work . Geneticists led by scientists at the University of Warwick studied samples from 26 of the bodies and found that eight of them had died of tuberculosis . They discovered DNA of 14 different strains of TB bacteria in the mummies . The researchers believe these are the first cases of TB-related deaths among people who lived before modern medicine was developed, but they have not yet been able to determine if any other diseases caused their death.
More than 200 mummified bodies were found in a hidden crypt of the Dominican church in the city of Vác in Hungary during restoration work . Geneticists led by scientists at the University of Warwick studied samples from 26 of the bodies and found that eight of them had died of tuberculosis . They discovered DNA of 14 different strains of TB bacteria in the mummies . Analysis showed the strains all descended from a single strain that begun causing infections during the late Roman empire between 396CE-470CE .