Revolutionary ancient DNA evidence indicates that Homo sapiens finished off Neanderthals through deadly infectious diseases

Less than a decade ago, the American anthropologist James C Scott described infectious diseases as the “loudest silence” in the prehistoric archaeological record. Epidemics must have devastated human societies in the distant past and changed the course of history, but, Scott lamented, the artefacts left behind reveal nothing about them.

Over the last few years, the silence has been shattered by pioneering research that analyses microbial DNA extracted from very old human skeletons. The latest example of this is a groundbreaking study that identified three viruses in 50,000-year-old Neanderthal bones. These pathogens still afflict modern humans: adenovirus, herpesvirus and papillomavirus cause the common cold, cold sores, and genital warts and cancer, respectively. The discovery may help us resolve the greatest mystery of the Palaeolithic era: what caused the extinction of Neanderthals.

Jonathan Kennedy teaches politics and global health at Queen Mary University of London and is the author of Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History

Health leaders say extensive negotiations still needed to agree set of measures on how the world should prevent and respond to future pandemics

• Explainer: What is the pandemic accord and why have negotiations been so difficult?

Global health leaders have said an international treaty governing how the world should deal with future pandemics may not be agreed for another year or more.

After two years of negotiations, countries failed to agree on the text of an international pandemic accord by a deadline of 24 May. And at the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday delegates said extensive further negotiations would be needed.

Former UK chief scientific adviser warns ‘we are not ready yet’ and urges next government to prepare

• UK politics live – latest updates

The former chief scientific adviser to the government Sir Patrick Vallance has said another pandemic is “absolutely inevitable” and urged the incoming British government to focus on preparing for it, warning “we are not ready yet”.

Speaking at a panel event at the Hay festival in Powys, Vallance said it is “great we are having an election” as there are “clearly issues that need to be sorted out”. One of the things the next government must do is implement “better surveillance to be able to pick these things up”, he said.

Models suggest deaths in poorer countries could be cut by 18% – or about 750,000 a year – with preventive measures

Every year 750,000 deaths linked to drug-resistant superbugs could be prevented through better access to clean water and sanitation, infection control and childhood vaccinations, research suggests.

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is a huge global challenge, with the evolution of drug-resistant superbugs, driven by factors including inappropriate and excessive antibiotic use, raising the prospect of a future where modern medicine fails.

The accord – conceived during Covid to prevent and respond to pandemics – will top the agenda at the World Health Assembly

Global health leaders will gather in Geneva on 27 May at the annual World Health Assembly, where a new agreement for countries to work together to prepare for, prevent, and respond to pandemics – known as the “pandemic accord” – will top the agenda.

It was first proposed by world leaders in early 2021, with a promise to avoid the mistakes of the Covid-19 pandemic next time around.

But authorities say households in some areas need to continue safety measures amid waterborne parasitic disease

• Anger in Devon as more cases of waterborne disease expected

Thousands of people in Devon can now safely drink their tap water again without having to boil it first, the region’s water supplier has announced after a parasite outbreak.

South West Water said about 14,500 households in the Alston supply area could use their tap water safely, although about 2,500 properties in Hillhead, the upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear should continue to boil their supply before drinking it.