The UK is close to eradicating a potentially ... The Hib/MenC vaccine is given to babies at one year old and helps prevent haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and meningitis C.

The first bacterial genome sequence, that of Haemophilus influenzae, was published in 1995 and took 1 year to complete, whereas draft bacterial genomes can now be produced in a matter of days.

“The well-authenticated detection of Haemophilus influenzae in an early medieval child promises that it will be detectable in more cases in history, and potentially prehistory,” he says.