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New DNA analysis of teeth from 13 soldiers who died during Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow has pinpointed two culprits behind the army’s devastation: Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C, which causes paratyphoid fever, and Borrelia recurrentis, the agent of louse-borne relapsing fever. Led by Nicolás Rascovan at the Institut Pasteur and published in Current Biology, the sequencing study found no traces of typhus or trench fever in this sample, aligning with accounts of fever and diarrhea and conditions of poor hygiene. Combined with a 2006 study, the results suggest multiple infections ravaged the Grande Armée, which lost estimated 300,000 men.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.