2024-07-21 21:08:48
The ancient Egyptians were no strangers to disease, with studies showing that they suffered from a wide range of infectious diseases, including smallpox, tuberculosis and leprosy.
For example, Ramses V, the fourth pharaoh of the 20th dynasty of Egypt, suffered from smallpox, as evidenced by the smallpox scars that mark his mummified body.
Although in 1980 The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared that smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, is it possible that thousands of years later, smallpox or other diseases could spread from newly exhumed mummies?
Piers Mitchell, director of the Laboratory of Ancient Parasites at the University of Cambridge (UK) and senior research fellow in the university’s archeology department, says this is highly unlikely.
“Most parasite species die within a year or two if they don’t have a living host to attach to,” says Mitchell.
For example, the smallpox virus can only reproduce in the cells of a living host, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy also need living carriers to survive.
However, smallpox is spread by touch, while tuberculosis and leprosy are usually spread by droplets from the nose and mouth, usually through sneezing or coughing.
Tuberculosis requires prolonged contact with a sick person. This is because the two types of bacteria that cause the disease, called Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosisreproduces slowly.
Another factor that reduces the chance of someone contracting a disease from a mummy is the decay of DNA over time.
“After analysis, you can see that all the pieces of DNA in these parasites are quite short,” says Mr. Mitchell. – Instead of nice, long, healthy strands of DNA, they’re only about 50-100 base pairs long. It looks like everything is shredded – and that’s because [DNR] degrades and breaks down. When the DNA breaks down, nothing can be viable – nothing regenerates.”
However, some fecal-borne parasitic intestinal worms live longer than other organisms – and not all need a live host to survive.
However, they do not cause much concern.
“They can be much more resilient and can survive for a few months (and sometimes a few years), but none of them will survive for thousands of years,” says Mr Mitchell. “The vast majority of parasites die when the host dies – because they have no chance of survival.”
And even if any of these ancient organisms were still alive, the masks, gloves and other protective gear scientists wear to keep mummies from contaminating them would also prevent them from becoming infected or spreading pathogens, according to Live Science..
2024-07-21 21:08:48