Puisqu’on parle des #Vikings …
Vikings suffered from massive intestinal WORM infestations | Daily Mail Online
▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3432259/Vikings-suffered-massive-intestinal-WORM-infestations-Researchers-say-p
Massive intestinal worm infestations that led to Vikings developing protection against disease has left descendants predisposed to emphysema and other lung conditions.
Archaeological excavations of Viking latrine pits in Denmark have revealed that 2,000 years ago, populations suffered massive infestations.
The way that their genes developed to protect their vital organs from disease caused by worms has become the inherited trait which can now lead to lung disease in smokers, the team found.
[…]
The team examined 1,000 year old parasite eggs recovered from Viking feces, which indicated both the Vikings and their domestic animals were plagued by parasites, reported ScienceNordic.
The eggs were found in soil samples from a latrine in a Norseman settlement near Viborg, Denmark, during 1018 to 1030.
Researchers extracted DNA from the eggs and by sequencing the DNA, they were able to decipher what species the eggs came from and if it infected humans.
Roundworm and human whipworm were found, along with liver fluke from cattle or sheep.
DNA sequencing of the parasite eggs can reveal information about the people who spread the parasites, according to researchers.
Vikings weren’t the only ones to pass along infected by parasitic worms.
Earlier this month, new research found the number of intestinal parasites such as whipworm, roundworm and Entamoeba histolytica dysentery did not decrease as expected in Roman times - and actually increased from Iron Age levels.
Researchers from Cambridge gathered evidence of parasites in ancient latrines, human burials and ’coprolites’ - or fossilised faeces - as well as in combs and textiles from numerous Roman Period excavations across the Roman Empire.
Not only did certain intestinal parasites appear to increase in prevalence with the coming of the Romans, but Mitchell also found that, despite their famous culture of regular bathing, ’ectoparasites’ such as lice and fleas were just as widespread among Romans as in Viking and medieval populations, where bathing was not widely practiced.
Some excavations revealed evidence for special combs to strip lice from hair, and delousing may have been a daily routine for many people living across the Roman Empire .
Vers intestinaux : ascaris et trichures
mais aussi, douve du foie
