The 10,000-year-old evolution of hepatitis B virus

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major health problem worldwide, causing nearly 1 million deaths every year

Hepatitis B virus and the population of the Americas

The current hepatitis B virus strains can be divided into 9 genotypes, two of which are mainly found in people of Native American descent

"Our data indicate that all known HBV genotypes came from strains that infected the first American ancestors and their closest Eurasian relatives, around the time these populations diverged

Hepatitis B virus in prehistoric Europe

The study also showed that the virus existed in most parts of Europe as early as 10,000 years ago, long before agriculture spread to the European continent

"Many human pathogens are thought to have emerged after being introduced into agriculture, but the hepatitis B virus has clearly affected prehistoric hunter-gatherers," said Johnny, head of the Archaeological Genetics Department of the Max Planck Institute for Human Evolution and co-director of the research.

After the Neolithic transition in Europe, the hepatitis B virus strain carried by hunter-gatherers was replaced by a new strain that might have been transmitted by the first farmers on the mainland, reflecting the influx of genes related to the expansion of agricultural populations in the region

The collapse and reappearance of prehistoric HBV

One of the most surprising findings of this study is that in the second half of 2000 BC, the hepatitis B virus diversity in western Eurasia suddenly declined.

"This may indicate an important change in the epidemiological dynamics of a very large area during this period, but we need more research to understand what happened," the research team’s lead author and researcher Arthur Co.

All the ancient HBV strains found in western Eurasia after this period belong to the new virus lineage that is still circulating in the region today