Paleoparasitological report on the stool from a Medieval child mummy in Yangju, Korea.
Previous studies have successfully shown evidence for parasitic infections in human remains from various archaeological sites. However, in the case of Korea, since there have been very few paleoparasitological reports published, pre-20th century parasitic infection patterns remain obscure. Therefore, in order to partly fill this gap, we are reporting on a case of paleoparasitic infection from the feces of a 15th century child mummy from Yangju, Korea. In the course of the present study, we found the eggs of Clonorchis sinensis, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Trichuris trichiura in the feces of the mummy. Trichuris trichiura eggs were found in far greater numbers than other parasite eggs; in fact, intact bipolar plugs were clearly observed and even the larvae were still visible in some eggs. The eggs of C. sinensis and A. lumbricoides were also well preserved, though not in as great a number. Since we could find a number of well-preserved larvae-containing eggs, we are encouraged that successful extraction, amplification, and sequence determination of ancient DNA from the paleoparasite eggs might be possible in future studies. With additional paleoparasitological investigation using feces from Korean mummies, we hope that a history of parasite infection in Korea will be reconstructed.
Seo
Min
M
Department of Parasitology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Chonan 330-714, Korea.
Guk
Sang-Mee
SM
Kim
Jaehyup
J
Chai
Jong-Yil
JY
Bok
Gi Dae
GD
Park
Sung Sil
SS
Oh
Chang Seok
CS
Kim
Myeung Ju
MJ
Yil
Yang Su
YS
Shin
Myung Ho
MH
Kang
In Uk
IU
Shin
Dong Hoon
DH
D000818:Animals; D001196:Ascariasis / Q000266:history; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003003:Clonorchiasis / Q000266:history; D003004:Clonorchis sinensis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000266:history*; D049668:History, 15th Century; D006801:Humans; D009106:Mummies / Q000469:parasitology*; D014257:Trichuriasis / Q000266:history; D014258:Trichuris / Q000302:isolation & purification