Luiz Fernando Ferreira

Human intestinal parasites in the past: new findings and a review

Almost all known human specific parasites have been found in ancient feces. A review of the paleoparasitological helminth and intestinal protozoa findings available in the literature is presented. We also report the new paleoparasitologic findings from the examination performed in samples collected in New and Old World archaeological sites. New finds of ancylostomid, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis, Trichostrongylus spp., Diphyllobothrium latum, Hymenolepis nana and Acantocephalan eggs are reported. According to the findings, it is probable that A. lumbricoides was originally a human parasite. Human ancylostomids, A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura, found in the New World in pre-Columbian times, have not been introduced into the Americas by land via Beringia. These parasites could not supported the cold climate of the region. Nomadic prehistoric humans that have crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia to the Americas in the last glaciation, probably during generations, would have lost these parasites, which life cycles need warm temperatures in the soil to be transmitted from host to host. Alternative routes are discussed for human parasite introduction into the Americas.

Parasite remains in archaeological sites

Organic remains can be found in many different environments. They are the most significant source for paleoparasitological studies as well as for other paleoecological reconstruction. Preserved paleoparasitological remains are found from the driest to the moistest conditions. They help us to understand past and present diseases and therefore contribute to understanding the evolution of present human sociality, biology, and behavior. In this paper, the scope of the surviving evidence will be briefy surveyed, and the great variety of ways it has been preserved in different environments will be discussed. This is done to develop to the most appropriated techniques to recover remaining parasites. Different techniques applied to the study of paleoparasitological remains, preserved in different environments, are presented. The most common materials used to analyze prehistoric human groups are reviewed, and their potential for reconstructing ancient environment and disease are emphasized. This paper also urges increased cooperation among archaeologists, paleontologists, and paleoparasitologists.

Ten thousand years of head lice infection.

9xMummies and mummification practices in the southwestern and southeastern United States. El-Najjar et al. : 121–137See all References, 10xSee all References, 11x) Diet and environment determined from analysis of prehistoric coprolites from an archaeological site near Zape Chico, Durango, Mexico. Reinhard, K.J. and Largent, F.B. J. Paleopathol. Monograph. 1989; 1: 151–156See all References, 12xArchaeoparasitology in North America. Reinhard, K.J. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 1990; 82: 145–162Crossref | PubMed | Scopus (67)See all References, 13xPaleoparasitology of oxyuriasis. Araujo, A. et al. Anais da Academia Nacionalde Medicina. 1997; 157: 20–24See all References, 14xHuman enterobiasis and evolution (origin, specificity and transmission) . Hugot, J.P. Parasite. 1999; 6: 106–112See all References

Paleoparasitology of Chagas disease: a review

One hundred years since the discovery of Chagas disease associated with Trypanosoma cruzi infection, growing attention has focused on understanding the evolution in parasite-human host interaction. This interest has featured studies and results from paleoparasitology, not only the description of lesions in mummified bodies, but also the recovery of genetic material from the parasite and the possibility of analyzing such material over time. The present study reviews the evidence of Chagas disease in organic remains excavated from archeological sites and discusses two findings in greater detail, both with lesions suggestive of chagasic megacolon and confirmed by molecular biology techniques. One of these sites is located in the United States, on the border between Texas and Mexico and the other in state of Minas Gerais, in the Brazilian cerrado (savannah). Dated prior to contact with Europeans, these results confirm that Chagas disease affected prehistoric human groups in other regions outside the Andean altiplanos and other transmission areas on the Pacific Coast, previously considered the origin of T. cruzi infection in the human host.

Parasites as Probes for Prehistoric Human Migrations

Host-specific parasites of humans are used to track ancient migrations. Based on archaeoparasitology, it is clear that humans entered the New World at least twice in ancient times. The archaeoparasitology of some intestinal parasites in the New World points to migration routes other than the Bering Land Bridge. Helminths have been found in mummies and coprolites in North and South America. Hookworms (Necator and Ancylostoma), whipworms (Trichuris trichiura) and other helminths require specific conditions for life-cycle completion. They could not survive in the cold climate of the northern region of the Americas. Therefore, humans would have lost some intestinal parasites while crossing Beringia. Evidence is provided here from published data of pre-Columbian sites for the peopling of the Americas through trans-oceanic or costal migrations.

The finding of eggs and larvae of parasitic helminths in archaeological material from Unai, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Introduction The study of parasites in human coprolites can throw light on such questions as the origin and antiquity of parasitic associations in different parts of the world, thus increasing our knowledge of the history of parasitic diseases, and can also be used as an aid to the interpretation of habits and migrations of prehistoric populations. Earlier work on these lines includes that of Przzr & SCHENONE (1954), WITENBERG (1961), PIKE (1968), FRY & HALL (1969), MOORE et al. (1969) and FONSECA (1970), among others. We here report the preliminary results of the parasitological examination of some coprolites collected by the staff of the Instituto de Arqueologia Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro.

Parasitism, the diversity of life, and paleoparasitology

The parasite-host-environment system is dynamic, with several points of equilibrium. This makes it difficult to trace the thresholds between benefit and damage, and therefore, the definitions of commensalism, mutualism, and symbiosis become worthless. Therefore, the same concept of parasitism may encompass commensalism, mutualism, and symbiosis. Parasitism is essential for life. Life emerged as a consequence of parasitism at the molecular level, and intracellular parasitism created evolutive events that allowed species to diversify. An ecological and evolutive approach to the study of parasitism is presented here. Studies of the origin and evolution of parasitism have new perspectives with the development of molecular paleoparasitology, by which ancient parasite and host genomes can be recovered from disappeared populations. Molecular paleoparasitology points to host-parasite co-evolutive mechanisms of evolution traceable through genome retrospective studies.

The finding of helminth eggs in a Brazilian mummy

Coprolites were collected with the aid of a rectosigmoidoscope from a naturally mummified body of a child. The body dates from 3.490 +/- 120 to 430 +/- 70 BP and was found in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The coprolites were rehydrated with a trisodium phosphate solution and concentrated by the spontaneous sedimentation method. Microscopical examination showed eggs the same shape and size as those of Trichuris trichiura and of an ancylostomid.

Paleoparasitology and the antiquity of human host-parasite relationships.

Paleo-parasitology may be developed as a new tool to parasite evolution studies. DNA sequences dated thousand years ago, recovered from archaeological material, means the possibility to study parasite-host relationship coevolution through time. Together with tracing parasite-host dispersion throughout the continents, paleo-parasitology points to the interesting field of evolution at the molecular level. In this paper a brief history of paleo-parasitology is traced, pointing to the new perspectives opened by the recent techniques introduced.

Enterobius vermicularis: ancient DNA from north and south American human coprolites

A molecular paleoparasitological diagnostic approach was developed for Enterobius vermicularis. Ancient DNA was extracted from 27 coprolites from archaeological sites in Chile and USA. Enzymatic amplification of human mtDNA sequences confirmed the human origin. We designed primers specific to the E. vermicularis 5S ribosomal RNA spacer region and they allowed reproducible polymerase chain reaction identification of ancient material. We suggested that the paleoparasitological microscopic identification could accompany molecular diagnosis, which also opens the possibility of sequence analysis to understand parasite-host evolution.