Technical Note: A Rapid Diagnostic Test Detects Plague in Ancient Human Remains : An Example of the Interaction Between Archeological and Biological Approaches (Southeastern France, 16th–18th Centuries)

International audienceA rapid diagnostic test (RDT) that detects Yersinia pestis F1 antigen was applied to 28 putative plague victims exhumed from seven burial sites in southeastern France dating to the 16th–18th centuries.Yersinia pestis F1 antigen was detected in 19 of the 28(67.9%) samples. The 27 samples used as negative controlsyielded negative results. Soil samples taken fromarcheological sites related to both positive and negativesamples tested negative for F1 antigen. The detectionthreshold of the RDT for plague (0.5 ng/ml) is sufficientfor a preliminary retrospective diagnosis of Y. pestisinfection in human remains. The high specificity andsensitivity of the assay were confirmed. For two sitespositive to F1 antigen (Lambesc and Marseille), Y. pestis specific DNA (pla gene) had been identified previouslyby PCR-sequence based analyses. Specifically, the positive results for two samples, from the Lambesc cemetery and the Marseille pit burial, matched those previously reported using PCR. Independent analyses in Italy and France of different samples taken from the same burial sites (Draguignan and Martigues) led to the identification of both Y. pestis F1 antigen and Y. pestis pla and gplD genes. These data are clear evidence of the presence of Y. pestis in the ancient human remains examined in this study