Can an ancient virus be brought back to life? What 500‑year‑old smallpox DNA reveals

Researchers recovered degraded variola (smallpox) DNA fragments from two mummified Indigenous Chilean remains dating ~1492–1631, providing the first ancient American smallpox genomes and linking these Chilean strains to European lineages. The study offers molecular evidence that smallpox reached the Americas via colonization, shows non-constant evolutionary rates over time, and confirms that no intact virus was found—the findings cannot enable revival of the virus.

Can an ancient virus be brought back to life? What 500‑year‑old smallpox DNA reveals # Can an ancient virus be brought back to life? What 500‑year‑old smallpox DNA reveals Residents of Rhondda Valley in Wales queuing for their smallpox vaccinations, after the World Health Organisation declared the valley to be an infected area in 1962. Picture: Getty Images Sat, 19 Sep, 2026 - 01:00 Aris Katzourakis Smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been eradicated worldwide. Researchers have now recovered fragments of ancient DNA belonging to variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox, from the naturally mummified remains of two Indigenous people buried in northern Chile. For centuries, smallpox caused devastating epidemics. Its severe form, variola major, killed around 30% of those infected, although the rate varied between outbreaks and populations. The first documented outbreak in the Americas occurred on the island of Hispaniola in 1518. During the 16th century, successive epidemics became a major contributor to the catastrophic loss of Indigenous life, amid the wider violence and disruption of European colonisation. In 1967, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched an intensified eradication programme, combining vaccination with surveillance and containment. The last-known naturally acquired case occurred in Somalia in 1977, and the WHO declared smallpox eradicated in 1980. Live variola virus is officially retained at two high-security WHO-designated laboratories for approved research. The material found in Chile consists only of damaged genetic fra…

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