Genomic analyses to recover viral molecules associated with 19th century smallpox vaccination practices demonstrate that it is possible to recover invaluable genomic data without causing damage to historical artefacts, thereby preserving them in perpetuity for the medical community. From sequencing archival vaccine materials, we reconstruct the history of vaccinations and clarify the relationship of smallpox vaccination-related viruses. Metagenomic data recovered from these kits can be further inform on the ancestry and sex of vaccination patients as well as identify co-circulating infections. This pilot project demonstrates both the success of non-destructive sampling techniques and the potential of museum collections to unravel the history of vaccination.

Ana Duggan has been a postdoctoral research in the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre since 2015. With combined approaches and training in molecular anthropology, evolution and population genetics, her current lines of research are centred on historical inferences from genomic data,both in terms of human population history and epidemiology of pathogens which have shaped human history.