Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations

Abstract

Whilst archaeological evidence for many aspects of life in ancient China is well studied, there has been much less interest in ancient infectious diseases, such as intestinal parasites in past Chinese populations. Here, we bring together evidence from mummies, ancient latrines, and pelvic soil from burials, dating from the Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, in order to better understand the health of the past inhabitants of China and the diseases endemic in the region. Seven species of intestinal parasite have been identified, namely roundworm, whipworm, Chinese liver fluke, oriental schistosome, pinworm, Taenia sp. tapeworm, and the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski. It was found that in the past, roundworm, whipworm, and Chinese liver fluke appear to have been much more common than the other species. While roundworm and whipworm remained common into the late 20th century, Chinese liver fluke seems to have undergone a marked decline in its prevalence over time. The iconic transport route known as the Silk Road has been shown to have acted as a vector for the transmission of ancient diseases, highlighted by the discovery of Chinese liver fluke in a 2,000 year-old relay station in northwest China, 1,500 km outside its endemic range.

Mummification in Korea and China: Mawangdui, Song, Ming and Joseon Dynasty Mummies

“…As early as 1956, Ascaris eggs were identified in a coprolite from a 450-year-old male mummy belonging to the Ming dynasty. Ancient parasite eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides , Fasciolopsis buski , C. sinensis , and T. trichiura [ 48 , 49 ] were also found in mummies of the Song-and-Ming Dynasties. The overall pattern of the paleoparasitological studies looks very similar to those carried on the Korean mummies.…”

A Case of Ectopic Paragonimiasis in a 17th Century Korean Mummy

“…infections (Horne and Kawasaki, 1984;Guhl et al, 1999;Sianto et al, 2005;Dagef¨orde et al, 2014;Panzer et al, 2014;Novo et al, 2015;Reinhard and Ara´ujo, 2016). Chinese mummies have yielded indications of Clonorchis sinensis, Trichuris sp., Ascaris sp., and Enterobius vermicularis infections (Wei et al, 1981;Li, 1984;Liu et al, 2007;Yeh and Mitchell, 2016), while an Iranian mummy sample revealed a Taenia sp. infection (Nezamabadi et al, 2013).…”

Discovery of Eurytrema Eggs in Sediment from a Colonial Period Latrine in Taiwan

“…Whipworm and roundworm eggs were present at low concentrations in this cesspool, indicating that the colonists were probably infected with low numbers of whipworm and roundworm, often spread by eating food contaminated by human faeces. These species have been found in archaeological samples from past populations in East Asia [16][17][18][19][20]. However, the finding of Eurytrema sp.…”

“…The adult flukes of Eurytrema pancreaticum are found in the pancre-atic ducts, and occasionally in the bile ducts and small intestines [21]. Several human Eurytrema pancreaticum infections have been reported in modern Japan [15], but never before in archaeological samples from East Asia [16][17][18][19][20]. In China, infection occurs less frequently among camels and monkeys [15,22] and the majority of cases occur among Asian cattle [23].…”