Malaria afflicted the Roman Empire
some 2,000 years ago, according to a new analysis of human teeth collected in
Italian cemeteries.
Malaria is a serious and sometimes
fatal mosquito-borne disease caused by parasites.
In 2015, an estimated 214
million cases of malaria occurred worldwide, leading to 438,000 deaths, mostly
children, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Previous research suggested that malaria was a major disease that afflicted Italy
during the Roman Empire. "Its presence during this time is indirectly
supported by extensive writings from ancient authors, such as Celsus and Galen, as well as ancient human skeletal
remains," said lead study author Stephanie Marciniak, a biological
anthropologist at Pennsylvania State University.
However, it was uncertain which
species of parasite caused malaria during the Roman Empire. Currently, Plasmodium
falciparum is responsible for the largest number of malaria-related deaths
globally, but different species of Plasmodium can cause other, usually
milder forms of malaria. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]
"Knowing the specific species
helps frame interpretations about the diversity of the experience of disease in
the past," Marciniak told Live Science. "Being able to have a window
to ancient microbes can also help to understand how a particular causative
agent may have evolved or changed over time."
To learn more about ancient malaria,
Marciniak and her colleagues examined human teeth from the bodies of 58 adults and 10
children that date back to the Imperial period of the first to third centuries
A.D. These remains came from three cemeteries in southern Italy — the sites of
Isola Sacra and Velia were known as important port cities and trading centers,
while Vagnari was located farther inland and is thought to be the burial site
of laborers who would have worked on a rural Roman estate, the researchers
said.
"In order to explore a complex
disease like malaria, having a range of sites is beneficial, since malaria
could technically flourish in any of these locations," Marciniak said.
The scientists analyzed DNA
fragments from dental pulp taken from the teeth. "The only way to identify
the specific species of malaria is to use molecular techniques," Marciniak
said.
Usable malaria parasite DNA was
challenging to extract because the microbes primarily dwell within the
bloodstream and organs, including the spleen and liver, which decompose and
break down over time — in this case, over the course of two millennia. Still,
the researchers were able to pin down the presence of Plasmodium falciparum in
the remains of two adults — one from Velia, the other from Vagnari.
These findings revealed that malaria
afflicted Imperial-era Italy both on the coasts and inland. "Malaria was
likely a significant historical pathogen that caused widespread death in ancient
Rome," study senior author Hendrik Poinar, a paleogeneticist and director
of McMaster University's Ancient DNA Center in Hamilton, Canada, said in a statement.
Marciniak cautioned that while they
know that this parasite was present in ancient Rome, they do not know if the
disease killed the people it was found in. "Finding Plasmodium
falciparum malaria in the two adult skeletons cannot be extrapolated to
interpretations about widespread death or catastrophe caused by this parasite
in Imperial-period Italy," she said.
Future research can explore other
sites and time periods "in order to explore the scope of the
parasite," Marciniak said. Future discoveries of ancient malaria DNA could
help them see how the disease might have evolved over time, she said.
The scientists detailed their
findings on Dec. 5, 2016 in the journal Current Biology.
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Title : Shocking : 2,000-Year-Old Roman Skeletons Show Signs of Malaria
Description : Malaria afflicted the Roman Empire some 2,000 years ago, according to a new analysis of human teeth collected in Italian cemeteries. ...
