title: Intestinal parasite analysis in organic sediments collected from a 16th-century Belgian archeological site.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Luiz Fernando
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Marcelo Luiz Carvalho
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouchet
authors.forename: Carlos Henrique
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iguchi
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sianto
authors.forename: Adauto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Araujo
mesh_terms: 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*