{"title":"Continuity in intestinal parasite infection in Aalst (Belgium) from the medieval to the early modern period (12th-17th centuries)","authors":"Sophie Rabinow , Koen Deforce , Piers D. Mitchell","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.03.001","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To characterize patterns in the taxonomic diversity of parasites infecting the population of Aalst, Belgium, between the 12th and 17th centuries.</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>14 sediment samples from seven cesspits dated 1100–1700 CE.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Digital light microscopy and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>We identified eggs of four species of helminths: whipworm (<em>Trichuris trichiura</em>), roundworm (<em>Ascaris lumbricoides</em>), <em>Echinostoma</em> fluke and <em>Dicrocoelium</em> fluke. ELISA results for protozoal parasites were negative.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Taxonomic diversity of parasite infections remained constant from the 12th to the 17th centuries. Roundworm and whipworm, spread by poor sanitation, were dominant. Two species of zoonotic parasites were also identified, including for the first time ever in the Low Countries the <em>Echinostoma</em> fluke, which may have been spread by eating uncooked freshwater animal foods.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>Analysis of sediment samples spanning such a broad chronology (six centuries) from a single city offers the opportunity to track diachronic change, which is rare in paleoparasitological studies.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>We were unable to acquire samples from cesspits dating to the 14th century.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>Additional data from other Low Countries towns may strengthen the patterns identified in this paper. A similar approach can be used to investigate towns in different regions of the world.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","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/S1879981723000165","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
To characterize patterns in the taxonomic diversity of parasites infecting the population of Aalst, Belgium, between the 12th and 17th centuries.
Materials
14 sediment samples from seven cesspits dated 1100–1700 CE.
Methods
Digital light microscopy and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results
We identified eggs of four species of helminths: whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), Echinostoma fluke and Dicrocoelium fluke. ELISA results for protozoal parasites were negative.
Conclusions
Taxonomic diversity of parasite infections remained constant from the 12th to the 17th centuries. Roundworm and whipworm, spread by poor sanitation, were dominant. Two species of zoonotic parasites were also identified, including for the first time ever in the Low Countries the Echinostoma fluke, which may have been spread by eating uncooked freshwater animal foods.
Significance
Analysis of sediment samples spanning such a broad chronology (six centuries) from a single city offers the opportunity to track diachronic change, which is rare in paleoparasitological studies.
Limitations
We were unable to acquire samples from cesspits dating to the 14th century.
Suggestions for further research
Additional data from other Low Countries towns may strengthen the patterns identified in this paper. A similar approach can be used to investigate towns in different regions of the world.
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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