Modern herpes variants may be linked to bronze age kissing, study finds

Researchers say that the practice of kissing may have boosted the prevalence of the herpes variant that causes modern cold sores.

The course for its dominance was set about 4,500 years ago when one variant overtook all the others.

The study found that all of the variations in Europe today are related to the Bronze Age. The ones that were around before that have been replaced by humans.

There are nearly 4 billion people who are affected by the HSV-1. It is thought to have arisen millions of years ago. Scientists don't know how it has evolved since humans spread out of Africa

Four individuals from the UK, the Netherlands and Russia were the only ones who had been exposed to the sexually transmitted disease, according to the team. They span a long time.

The oldest person excavated was an iron age man who was about 1,500 years old. A woman in her 30s or 40s and a man in his teens or early 20s were both buried in the Cambridge area. A third skeleton, that of a man in his mid 20s to 30s, whose bent teeth betrayed a penchant for clay pipe smoking, came from a burial ground on the bank of the Rhine, which may have been the site of a French attack on his village in 1672.

The ancient viruses were very similar to the ones we see today, and could be traced back to the Bronze Age. The timing coincides with a population boom that could have caused transmission rates to soar.

The scientists think another factor may have been involved. A manuscript from south Asia is the earliest written record of kissing. The new route for the virus to spread may have been provided by kissing, which is far from being a cultural norm. The argument says that until then, the transmission of the disease was limited.

It's an extra way to spread the virus if a group of people suddenly kiss.

She said there was more to be found. Kissing doesn't fossilise well, that's one of the reasons The Romans were aware of the dangers of kissing. Emperor Tiberius tried to prevent the spread of disease by banning kissing at official functions.

The team, which includes researchers from Tartu University in Estonia, want to find out more about the history of the disease. Clues as to why the virus can sometimes be fatal can be found in its genetic history.

Dr Christiana Scheib is a co-author on the study and hopes to find a cure for the disease. It would be great if we could isolated a Neanderthal strain to understand how humans and Neanderthals share diseases.