title: Bartonella quintana in a 4000-year-old human tooth.
abstract: Bacteria of the genus Bartonella are transmitted by ectoparasites (lice, fleas, ticks) and have mammalian reservoirs in which they cause chronic, asymptomatic bacteremia. Humans are the reservoir of B. quintana, the louse-borne agent of trench fever. We detected DNA of B. quintana in the dental pulp of a person who died 4000 years ago.
authors.affiliation: Unite des Rickettsies, CNR UMR 6020, IFR 48, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drancourt
authors.forename: Lam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tran-Hung
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Courtin
authors.forename: Henry de
authors.initials: Hd
authors.lastname: Lumley
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D018413:Bartonella quintana / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000382:microbiology*; D005602:France; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008963:Molar / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010161:Paleodontology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial