The ancient Vikings suffered from a dangerous disease. It is caused by a parasite from Africa

Danish scientists used fossilized eggs in 2,500-year-old stool samples from Viking settlements in

Copenhagen and Vyborg for genetic analysisone of the oldest human parasites, the whipworm (lat. Trichocephalus trichiurus). This is a roundworm that causes trichuriasis. The parasite causes dysentery, anemia and rectal prolapse, and in children interferes with healthy growth.

The study of the DNA of whipworm eggs led to unexpectedresults. It turned out that the parasite spread from Africa around the world along with humans about 55,000 years ago. This confirms the hypothesis about the migration of the first people from this continent.

Thus, demographic analysis confirmsa stepwise distribution of genetic variation that is highest in Uganda. Genome-wide analysis of the samples revealed local areas of genetic differentiation between geographically distinct populations.

Sampling locations. Image: University of Copenhagen

Scientists have studied the global distributionwhipworm, which has complicated the lives of people for thousands of years. In previous studies, experts have found that whipworm affects the human immune system and the gut microbiome.

“People who are malnourished or have a weakenedimmune system, whipworm leads to serious illness, explains Professor Christian Capel of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of California in the field of health. “Mapping the whipworm and its genetic development facilitates the development of more effective anthelmintic drugs. They can be used to prevent the spread of the parasite in the world's poorest regions."

Lavatories from the 1650s, found during excavations of the Copenhagen metro.
Photo: University of Copenhagen

Incredibly stable egg capsule chitinallowed the internal DNA of the whipworms to be well preserved while the eggs were buried in moist soil. The scientists separated them from the stool using a microscope. They then subjected them to genetic analysis that had been perfected over the years in earlier studies.

Then the researchers studied ancient samplesstools collected from different locations and compared with modern samples obtained from people infected with whipworms from around the world. This gave them insight into the evolution of the worm over 10,000 years.

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Cover photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons