DNA Study Finds 2 Malaria Species in Francesco I de’ Medici, Challenging 1587 Poisoning Theory
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 15
DNA Study Finds 2 Malaria Species in Francesco I de’ Medici, Challenging 1587 Poisoning Theory
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 15
Summary
Researchers from the University of Pisa and Yale found Plasmodium DNA in rib-bone samples from Francesco I de’ Medici, concluding malaria caused the 1587 death long blamed on arsenic poisoning.
The June iScience study identified two malaria species—Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium malariae—using ancient DNA, a method the team said is more definitive than earlier paleo-immunological tests.
Historical records already pointed to malaria: Francesco and Bianca Cappello fell ill near marshy Poggio a Caiano, showed intermittent fever, and received bloodletting, a treatment now known to worsen the disease.
The analysis also detected malaria in Francesco’s brother Giovanni, who died 25 years earlier after coastal travel, including a previously unknown P. falciparum strain that may help map malaria’s evolution in Renaissance Italy.
Some scholars still argue poisoning cannot be ruled out, saying malaria infection does not prove it was the sole cause of death, though outside experts called the DNA evidence a major step toward narrowing the centuries-old debate.