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Napoleon's Retreat: New Disease Insights Challenge Old Beliefs

8/5/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A groundbreaking study by microbiologist Rémi Barbieri from Paris Cité University uncovers that Napoleon's soldiers faced paratyphoid fever and louse-borne relapsing fever during their harrowing 1812 Russian retreat, not typhus as previously thought. By analyzing DNA from 13 soldiers' teeth, researchers highlight the urgency for more samples to unravel the mysteries of these historical diseases.

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Story summary

A groundbreaking study by microbiologist Rémi Barbieri from Paris Cité University uncovers that Napoleon's soldiers faced paratyphoid fever and louse-borne relapsing fever during their harrowing 1812 Russian retreat, not typhus as previously thought. By analyzing DNA from 13 soldiers' teeth, researchers highlight the urgency for more samples to unravel the mysteries of these historical diseases.