Intestinal parasite analysis in organic sediments collected from a 16th-century Belgian archeological site.
Parasite eggs found in organic remains collected from medieval structures in Raversijde (medieval name: Walraversijde), a village on the northern coast of Belgium, are discussed. The eggs were identified as Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, both human parasites. Species identification allowed elucidating the origin of the organic sediments and the structures, in this case latrines used by humans. Capillaria sp. and free-living nematode larvae were also found in the latrine. Although neither parasite burden nor prevalence rates could be measured, the abundance of human intestinal parasite eggs indicated a high infection rate in the village residents, reflecting very poor sanitation.
Fernandes
Alexandre
A
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ferreira
Luiz Fernando
LF
Gonçalves
Marcelo Luiz Carvalho
ML
Bouchet
Françoise
F
Klein
Carlos Henrique
CH
Iguchi
Takumi
T
Sianto
Luciana
L
Araujo
Adauto
A
D000818:Animals; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001530:Belgium; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D049669:History, 16th Century; D006801:Humans; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D014038:Toilet Facilities; D014258:Trichuris / Q000302:isolation & purification*