Scientists found a very old plague. It lived in people 5,500 years ago near Lake Baikal in Siberia.

科學家發現了一種非常古老的瘟疫。它在 5,500 年前出現在西伯利亞貝加爾湖附近的人類身上。

Scientists looked at old teeth from 46 people. They found the plague bacteria in 18 people. Many people in one village were sick.

科學家研究了 46 人的古舊牙齒。他們在 18 人的牙齒中發現了瘟疫細菌。某個村莊的許多人都染病了。

Before this, scientists thought the plague only happened in big cities with farms. But these people were hunters. They moved a lot. This means the plague can kill people even in small groups.

在此之前，科學家認為瘟疫僅發生在擁有農場的大城市中。但這些人是獵人，他們經常遷徙。這意味著即使在小規模群體中，瘟疫也能造成死亡。

This old plague was different. It did not use fleas. It moved from person to person through the air. It was very dangerous for children.

這種古老瘟疫與後來的不同。它不透過跳蚤傳播，而是透過空氣在人與人之間傳染。這對兒童來說非常危險。

Scientists think the plague came from marmots. Marmots are large animals. Hunters touched the animals and got sick.

科學家認為瘟疫源自土撥鼠。土撥鼠是一種大型動物，獵人接觸這些動物後便染病了。

The plague was in Siberia 5,500 years ago. It was different from the plague in later years.

5,500 年前的西伯利亞曾出現過瘟疫，與後期的瘟疫有所不同。