{"title":"Tentative indicators of malaria in archaeological skeletal samples, a pilot study testing different methods","authors":"Ioana Cătălina Paica , Ioana Rusu , Octavian Popescu , Alexandru Brînzan , Ion Pencea , Cătălin Dobrinescu , Beatrice Kelemen","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.01.004","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This study attempts to integrate multiple methods to investigate the presence of malaria in human skeletal samples from an archaeological context.</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>33 well preserved human remains originating from a 17th-century archaeological site in southeastern Romania.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The human bone samples were analyzed using rapid diagnostic tests for malaria antigens and PCR amplification of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> apical membrane antigen 1. A preliminary test was performed to identify and briefly characterize the presence of hemozoin using a combination of TEM imaging and diffraction.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The rapid diagnostic tests indicated that more than half of the examined samples were positive for <em>Plasmodium</em> antigens, but no traces of the parasites’ genetic material were detected despite repeated attempts. The TEM images indicated that hemozoin might be a promising diagnostic marker of malaria in ancient bones.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The indisputable identification of malaria in the analyzed archaeological population was not possible as none of the applied methodological strategies turned out to be straightforward.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>This study reinforces the intricacy and limitations of unequivocally identifying malaria in past populations and sets the stage for future studies on such life-threatening infectious disease in a geographical space, which is currently underrepresented in the bioarchaeological literature.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>The low sample size and the lack of consistency across all assays hindered understanding the role of malaria in the studied population.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>Further thorough multidisciplinary approaches on malaria detection in ancient settlements would be appropriate to inform our knowledge of its origins, frequency, and pathogen changes over centuries.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"40 ","pages":"Pages 109-116"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Paleopathology","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879981723000049","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PALEONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Objective
This study attempts to integrate multiple methods to investigate the presence of malaria in human skeletal samples from an archaeological context.
Materials
33 well preserved human remains originating from a 17th-century archaeological site in southeastern Romania.
Methods
The human bone samples were analyzed using rapid diagnostic tests for malaria antigens and PCR amplification of Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1. A preliminary test was performed to identify and briefly characterize the presence of hemozoin using a combination of TEM imaging and diffraction.
Results
The rapid diagnostic tests indicated that more than half of the examined samples were positive for Plasmodium antigens, but no traces of the parasites’ genetic material were detected despite repeated attempts. The TEM images indicated that hemozoin might be a promising diagnostic marker of malaria in ancient bones.
Conclusions
The indisputable identification of malaria in the analyzed archaeological population was not possible as none of the applied methodological strategies turned out to be straightforward.
Significance
This study reinforces the intricacy and limitations of unequivocally identifying malaria in past populations and sets the stage for future studies on such life-threatening infectious disease in a geographical space, which is currently underrepresented in the bioarchaeological literature.
Limitations
The low sample size and the lack of consistency across all assays hindered understanding the role of malaria in the studied population.
Suggestions for further research
Further thorough multidisciplinary approaches on malaria detection in ancient settlements would be appropriate to inform our knowledge of its origins, frequency, and pathogen changes over centuries.
期刊介绍：
Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.
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