News Health & Medicine

A deadly bacteria has been infecting children for more than 1,400 years

The oldest known case of the disease was found in a 6-year-old boy who died around the year 550

microscope image of Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria

The bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b, shown in this microscope image, can cause meningitis and pneumonia in young children. A new genetic analysis confirms the pathogen has been around for at least 1,400 years.

Alain Grillet/Sanofi Pasteur/flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

By Amber Dance

The tragic death of a 6-year-old boy in early medieval England has given scientists the earliest direct clue to the history of the pathogen Haemophilus influenzae type b.