What have the Romans ever done for us?
According to new research, the spread of the Roman Empire through Europe could help explain why those living in its former colonies are more vulnerable to HIV.
People once ruled by Rome are less likely to have a gene variant which protects against HIV. In countries inside the borders of the Roman Empire for longer periods, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, the frequency of the CCR5-delta32 gene, which offers some protection against HIV, is between 0% and 6%. Countries at the fringe of the empire, such as Germany and England, the rate is between 8% and 11.8%, while in countries never conquered by Rome the rate is greater than this.
Tags: Biology, Genetics, Health, History, HIV/AIDS, Medicine, Microbiology, Science, Virology
I’d bet one will find some beneficial gene that the Romans have helped to spread. So I don’t see the Romans have lost THIS battle yet! :-)
coincidentally, the black death distribution maps with that of the roman empire.. maybe it has something with the level of urbanisation?
Fascinating. I had heard about the correlations with the Romans and the plague, but never before between the Romans and susceptibility to HIV.
Margot