Tuberculosis in the non-adults from Romano-British Poundbury Camp, Dorset, England

Abstract

The prevalence of tuberculosis and pulmonary disease in 165 non-adults (under 17 years) from Romano-British Poundbury Camp (1st–3rd centuries ad) is examined. Previous studies have reported eleven individuals with tuberculosis in England during the Roman period, but none are of children. Ten (6.1%) non-adults between the ages of 3 and 15 years were identified that presented lesions suggestive of a pulmonary infection, with seven (4.2%) likely to have been suffering from tuberculosis. Pathological changes included spinal lytic lesions, active new bone on the visceral aspects of the ribs, widespread periostitis on the long bones, dactylitis, and osteomyelitis of the mandible and scapula. The nature of skeletal tuberculosis in children and various differential diagnoses are discussed. The results from this study increase our knowledge of tuberculosis in the UK, and suggest that the disease was much more prevalent in Romano-British society than has been previously reported.