A toxic bacteria could be in teeth the poet’s pablo neruda before death. This was confirmed by an expert report submitted to the Chilean justice system in February. The family presented the result as evidence. murder by the Augusto regime pinochet, who seized power in Chile shortly before the death of the poet and communist party member . However crossword Neruda’s ending still doesn’t fit. What is known for sure and needs to be explained?
poet’s death
Neruda died on September 23, 1973, 12 days after Pinochet’s coup. I was accepted for prostate cancer and urinary tract infection. But in 2011 his driver Manual Interrupt He said the real cause was an unexpected injection he received a few hours before he died. The Chilean Communist Party and Neruda’s family, poisoning.
commission of inquiry
Following the complaint, a judge ordered the exhumation of Neruda’s remains and selected a panel of experts to analyze them. In 2013, after its presence or absence was confirmed More than 2000 chemicals In the remains, the commission did not find any evidence of poisoning, but found that it was there. metastasis extends to the bones.
In 2015, the judge established a new commission to investigate the presence of biological agents. The panel included experts from two laboratories at McMaster University (Canada) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). In 2017, the commission reported that it had found a bacterium called ‘clostridium botulinum’ in Neruda’s teeth., what can be deadly botulism (typically found in boxes of poorly packaged food).
Final expert opinion
The same labs were included in the latest research. These are specialized centres. ancient dnaTechnology that allows analyzing the genes of primitive remains such as Neanderthals. According to two of its authors (reports are in summary secrecy), the team applied a technique to Neruda’s remains. metagenomics: A system that identifies the human DNA in the sample and the DNA of the various microbes present in it. “For example, we found DNA related to dental caries and urinary tract infection,” he explains. Hendrik Poinarfrom McMaster University.
Was the bacteria poisonous?
The team reconstructed about a third of the Clostridium botulinum genome found in the remains. Some strains of these bacteria are not toxic, but experts have been identified in the parts. a gene involved in the production of botulinum toxin. Type II Clostridium botulinum [el grupo hallado en los restos] produces neurotoxins […] from a single gene”, notes Frederic Meunieran expert from the University of Queensland (Australia) who was not involved in the expert opinion.
But Poinar is cautious. “We worked hard corrupted and only partial. “More research is needed to be sure that toxic genes exist,” he says.
Bacteria in the poet’s body
The forensic panel also corruption The effect of time and environment on bacteria’s DNA is similar to the wear and tear on Neruda’s own DNA and that of other typical mouth bacteria. distribution genome fragment size – an indication of the level of deterioration – is similar in all these cases. From this it was concluded that the bacteria could be in the poet’s body at the time of his death, and not after his death.
But ‘clostridium botulinum’ is very abundant in soil. “The entry of bacteria into teeth after death cannot be completely ruled out,” he says. carles lalueza the foxThe ancient DNA expert and director of the Barcelona Museum of Natural Sciences is not included in the expert report. Marie Louise KampmanThe study’s co-author, from the University of Copenhagen, agrees that comparing degradation levels does not provide a precise measure of time. “A sample that stays for 10 years in a warm, humid environment may have the same degradation as a sample that stays for 50 years in a cold, dark environment,” he says.
Bacteria injected?
Rodolfo ReyesThe lawyer of the Neruda family and the poet’s nephew announced the result as proof of poisoning. “[Las bacterias] they must have been injected because they ran in their blood [para llegar a los dientes]”, he says. This form of poisoning gives physical appereance a natural death,” adds Poinar. “There is nothing in science that guarantees this. We’re not talking about poisoning. It is not a closed door, nor is it a smoke gun“, says.
What is normally used to poison is the potent purified toxin, not the bacteria that produced it. But no trace of toxins. “I’m not surprised: it’s not stable and metabolizes quickly,” he observes. Rietie VenterA biochemist from the University of South Australia who specializes in bacteria is not included in the expert reports. Venter agrees with Meunier in suggesting that a toxin contaminated with the bacteria that produced it may have been used.
“Injection is not the only possible explanation: An alternative would be to eat bacteria in the gut. poisonous foodsays Kampmann. However, unintentional poisoning may have affected other patients, Venter thinks.
Other theories
There is a simpler explanation [que el envenenamiento]” indicates aurelio lunaA toxicologist from the University of Murcia who participated in the 2013 and 2017 expert panels. “The regime had reasons to kill him. There were favorable conditions to hasten his death. What is the most logical option? Send a doctor who doesn’t treat you and let it die. There is no single data [en la historia clínica] this shows that it has been adequately cared for”, observes the researcher. “What his nephew said about finding him silver bulletNot so sure,” he concludes.