Abstract
Paleoparasitology is the science that uses parasitological techniques for diagnosing parasitic diseases in the past. Advances in molecular biology brought new insights into this field allowing the study of archaeological material. However, due to technical limitations a proper diagnosis and confirmation of the presence of parasites is not always possible, especially in scarce and degraded archaeological remains. In this study, we developed a Molecular Paleoparasitological Hybridization (MPH) approach using ancient DNA (aDNA) hybridization to confirm and complement paleoparasitological diagnosis. Eight molecular targets from four helminth parasites were included: Ascaris sp., Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis, and Strongyloides stercoralis. The MPH analysis using 18th century human remains from Praça XV cemetery (CPXV), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, revealed for the first time the presence E. vermicularis aDNA (50%) in archaeological sites of Brazil. Besides, the results confirmed T. trichiura and Ascaris sp. infections. The prevalence of infection by Ascaris sp. and E. vermicularis increased considerably when MPH was applied. However, a lower aDNA detection of T. trichiura (40%) was observed when compared to the diagnosis by paleoparasitological analysis (70%). Therefore, based on these data, we suggest a combination of Paleoparasitological and MPH approaches to verify the real panorama of intestinal parasite infection in human archeological samples.
Highlights
The first studies demonstrating the presence of parasites in human remains were of Ruffer [1], revealing the presence of Schistosoma haematobium in renal tissue of Egyptian mummies dating from 1250 to 1100 BC, and of Szidat [2], showing Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs in well-preserved bodies from Prussia
We observed ancient DNA (aDNA) of T. trichiura and Ascaris sp. in 40% of the samples and E. vermicularis in 50%, while S. stercoralis aDNA was not detected
Deguilloux and colleagues [16] state: ‘‘Cemeteries potentially hold a wealth of information about the biological and social aspects of the communities who used them.’’ The archaeological site CPXV was a mass grave that was used to bury African slaves and inhabitants in general who died as a result of epidemics that plagued the city during the colonial period
Summary
The first studies demonstrating the presence of parasites in human remains were of Ruffer [1], revealing the presence of Schistosoma haematobium in renal tissue of Egyptian mummies dating from 1250 to 1100 BC, and of Szidat [2], showing Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs in well-preserved bodies from Prussia. [7,8], Trichuris trichiura [9], and Enterobius vermicularis ancient DNA (aDNA) [10,11] have been demonstrated in human remains by paleoparasitological analysis, as well as, by PCR and DNA sequencing. These techniques have some limitations that often do not allow a robust parasitological diagnosis. We present a new approach for molecular diagnosis of the main intestinal parasites in archaeological material in order to improve the diagnosis and to contribute to the knowledge of a real paleoepidemiology of these infections in the past
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