First report in pre-Columbian mummies from Bolivia of Enterobius vermicularis infection and capillariid eggs: A contribution to Paleoparasitology studies.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to search for ancient parasites in abdominal content and coprolites from Bolivian mummies. MATERIALS: Twelve mummified individuals from the Andean highlands, housed at the National Museum of Archaeology (MUNARQ) in La Paz, Bolivia. METHODS: Microscopic analysis of rehydrated samples (coprolites and abdominal content), following Lutz's spontaneous sedimentation technique. RESULTS: Eggs of Enterobius vermicularis were identified in coprolites from one mummy, and capillariid eggs in the organic abdominal content from another individual. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first evidence of ancient intestinal parasites in Bolivian mummies. SIGNIFICANCE: This pioneering study focused on the search of ancient intestinal parasites in human remains of the Bolivian Andes and contributes to greater knowledge of paleoparasitology in South America. LIMITATIONS: All mummies in the MUNARQ belonged to the Andean Bolivian highlands (post-Tiwanaku era or Late Intermediate Period), although the exact provenance of the material and the associated contexts are not well recorded. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Considering the great number of well-known archaeological sites and other unexplored sites in Bolivia, in addition to large collections in museums, further paleopathological and paleoparasitological molecular studies in mummies and skeletons are called for.

A comparison of ancient parasites as seen from archeological contexts and early medical texts in China.

This paper integrates our knowledge from traditional Chinese medical texts and archeological findings to discuss parasitic loads in early China. Many studies have documented that several different species of eukaryotic endoparasites were present in early human populations throughout China. Nevertheless, comprehensive paleoparasitological records from China are patchy, largely due to taphonomic and environmental factors. An examination of early Chinese medical texts allows us to fill in some of the gaps and counteract apparent biases in the current archeoparasitological records. By integrating the findings of paleoparasitology with historic textual sources, we show that parasites have been affecting the lives of humans in China since ancient times. We discuss the presence and prevalence of three groups of parasites in ancient China: roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), Asian schistosoma (Schistosoma japonicum), and tapeworm (Taenia sp.). We also examine possible factors that favored the spread of these endoparasites among early humans. Therefore, this paper not only aims to reveal how humans have been affected by endoparasites, but also addresses how early medical knowledge developed to cope with the parasitic diseases.

Paleopathology and Paleomicrobiology of Malaria.

Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted through the bites of female anopheles flies. Plasmodium falciparum causes severe malaria with undulating high fever (malaria tropica). Literary evidence of malarial infection dates back to the early Greek period, when Hippocrates described the typical undulating fever highly suggestive of plasmodial infection. Recent immunological and molecular analyses describe the unambiguous identification of malarial infections in several ancient Egyptian mummies and a few isolated cases in Roman and Renaissance Europe. Although the numbers of cases are low, there is evidence that the overall infection rates may have been relatively high and that this infectious disease may have had a significant impact on historical populations.

Archaeological occurrences and historical review of the human amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica, over the past 6000years.

Understanding parasite history and the evolution of host/parasite relationships is one of the most important aspects of paleoparasitology. Within the framework of this research topic, this paper focuses on the human pathogenic amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica. The compilation of all the available archaeological data concerning this parasite leads to a first glimpse of the history of this parasite of current medical importance. Paleoparasitological investigation into this parasite uses immunological techniques and shows that the modern strain of E. histolytica has been present in Western Europe since at least the Neolithic period (3700yearsBCE), and could have originated in the Old World. The appearance of the modern amoeba strain in the pre-Columbian Americas and the Middle East around the 12th century CE gives rise to hypotheses as to how human migrations (Atlantic or Pacific routes) contributed to the diffusion of this pathogen, resulting in its current distribution. This compilation proves that parasites are valuable proxies for studying past human and animal migrations, and should be given more consideration in the future.

PALEOPATHOLOGY OF PRE-COLUMBIAN MUMMIES AT THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY IN FLORENCE.

We performed a histopathological study on the mummified tissue specimens of seven pre-Columbian mummies which arrived in Italy in the second half of the 19th century and are housed in the Section of Anthropology and Ethnology of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Florence. The results confirm that the modern techniques of pathological anatomy can be successfidly applied on mummifed tissues, so as to perform important paleopathological diagnoses. Among the results obtained from this study there is the only known complete paleopathological study of Chagas' disease (American Trypanosomiasis), comprising macroscopic, microscopic and ultrastructural data, as well as information on atherosclerosis, anthracosis, emphysema and pneumonia.

Malaria infection and human evolution.

During the evolution of the genus Homo, with regard to the species habilis, erectus and sapiens, malaria has played a key biological role in influencing human development. The plasmodia causing malaria have evolved in two ways, in biological and phylogenetic terms: Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale appear to have either coevolved with human mankind, or encountered human species during the most ancient phases of Homo evolution; on the other hand, Plasmodium falciparum has been transmitted to humans by monkeys in a more recent period, probably between the end of the Mesolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic age. The authors show both direct and indirect biomolecular evidence of malarial infection, detected in buried subjects, dating to ancient times and brought to light in the course of archaeological excavations in major Mediterranean sites. In this review of the literature the authors present scientific evidence confirming the role of malaria in affecting the evolution of populations in Mediterranean countries. The people living in several different Mediterranean regions, the cradle of western civilization, have been progressively influenced by malaria in the course of the spread of this endemic disease in recent millennia. In addition, populations affected by endemic malaria progressively developed cultural, dietary and behavioural adaptation mechanisms, which contributed to diminish the risk of disease. These habits were probably not fully conscious. Nevertheless it may be thought that both these customs and biological modifications, caused by malarial plasmodia, favoured the emergence of groups of people with greater resistance to malaria. All these factors have diminished the unfavourable demographic impact of the disease, also positively influencing the general development and growth of civilization.

[Contribution of palaeopathology to defining the pathocoenosis of infectious diseases (Part two)]. / Apporti della paleopatologia alla definizione della patocenosi delle malattieinfettive (II parte).

In the second part of their review the authors focus on palaeopathological studies, performed in mummified tissues, with reference to infectious diseases. The analysis of samples obtained from both natural and artificial mummies may provide, in some favourable events, a more complete knowledge of these findings in comparison to information obtained from only comprehensive examination of the skeleton. The acquired data enable us to understand not only the diseases which afflicted mankind, but also dietary and hygiene conditions of ancient populations. We report knowledge acquired regarding some palaeopathological conditions, including schistosomiasis, smallpox, cisticercosis, trichinosis, ascaridiasis, echinococcosis, filariasis, hepatitis E virus, condylomatosis, pulmonary tubercolosis, pediculosis, visceral leishmaniasis as well as Diphyllobotrium sp., Dicrocoelium dendriticum and Fasciola hepatica infestations. In addition some interesting findings concerning the relationship between dietary and food intake colonized by streptomyces are described. This review reports the discovery of human remains from different geographic areas: while most of these studies describe findings in two Mediterranean countries (Italy and Egypt), some refer to Britain and German-speaking countries (Austria and Germany) as well as the area in Africa known as Nubia, along the Nile. Both histological and biomolecular diagnosis are useful not only to identify a specific disease in a subject from the remote past, but also to achieve information concerning its frequency and evolution. Such knowledge may thus allow us to understand the intensity of cultural exchanges and links among different populations and the role of these relationships in transmitting and spreading infectious diseases in a certain geographic area.