Lien vers Pubmed [PMID] – 40203146
Lien DOI – 10.1093/infdis/jiaf189
J Infect Dis 2025 Apr; ():
Ancient DNA provides a unique opportunity to study the history and spread of infectious diseases. Here, we analyzed 21 samples from a collection of 20th-century penis gourds (koteka) from Papua New Guinea housed at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris. Despite the presence of environmental species, we identified human-associated bacteria and, notably, an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) genome at high coverage. Phylogenetic analysis placed this strain within a Papua New Guinea-Indonesian cluster. These findings highlight museum collections as valuable reservoirs of genetic data, offering historical insights into the evolution and spread of human pathogens.