REFERENCES

01. Mitchell PD. Parasites in past civilizations and their impact upon health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2023. 173 pp. https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511732386.

02. Schindler-Piontek M, Chaubal N, Dehmani S, Cui XW, Dong Y, Sharma M, et al. Ascariasis, a review. Med Ultrason. 2020; 24: 329-38.

03. WHO - World Health Organization. Fact sheet. Soil-transmitted helminth infections. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmitted-helminth-infections.

04. Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, Diemert D, et al. Soil-transmitted helminth infections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm. Lancet. 2006; 367: 1521-32.

05. Vitali D, Szabó M, Fábry NB, Szabó D, Tankó É. La necropoli di Povegliano Veronese - Loc. Ortaia (Verona). In: Roncador R, Nicolis F, editors. Antichi popoli delle Alpi. Sviluppi culturali durante l’età del Ferro nei territori alpini centro-orientali. Trento: Provincia autonoma di Trento; 2014. p. 199-215.

06. Teegen WR. Prime notizie sulla paleopatologia degli inumati della necropoli tardo celtica di Povegliano Veronese, Loc. Ortaia (Prov. Verona, Italia). In: Barral P, Guillaumet JP, Roulière-Lambert MJ, Saracino M, Vitali D, editors. Les Celtes et le Nord de l’Italie: Premier et Second Âges du Fer. Actes du 36ème Colloque International de l’AFEAF, Vérone, 17-20 mai 2012. Dijon: Revue Archéologique de l’Est; 2014. p. 523-9.

07. Reinhard K, Geib PR, Callahan MM, Hevly RH. Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial: soil sampling for dietary remains. J Archaeol Sci. 1992; 19: 697-705.

08. Dittmar K, Teegen WR. The presence of Fasciola hepatica (Liver-fluke) in humans and cattle from a 4,500 year old archaeological site in the Saale-Unstrut Valley, Germany. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2003; 98(Suppl. 1): 141-3.

09. Dufour B, Le Bailly M. Testing new parasite egg extraction methods in paleoparasitology and an attempt at quantification. Int J Paleopathol. 2013; 3: 199-203.

10. López-Gijón R. La salud y la enfermedad en las poblaciones del pasado a través de la paleoparasitología [PhD Thesis]. Granada: Universidad de Granada; 2023. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/88593.

11. López-Gijón R, Carnicero S, Botella-López MC, Camarós E. Zoonotic parasite infection from a funerary context: a late antique child case from Cantabrian Spain. Int J Paleopathol. 2023; 41: 55-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.03.003.

12. Schutkowski H. Sex determination of infant and juvenile skeletons: I. Morphognostic features. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1993; 90: 199-205.

13. Ledger ML, Micarelli I, Ward D, Prowse TL, Carroll M, Killgrove K, et al. Gastrointestinal infection in Italy during the Roman Imperial and Longobard periods: a paleoparasitological analysis of sediment from skeletal remains and sewer drains. Int J Paleopathol. 2021; 33: 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.03.001.

14. Chu WG, Chen PM, Huang CC, Hsu CT. Neonatal ascariasis. J Pediatr. 1972; 81: 783-5.

15. Rathi AK, Batra S, Chandra J, Mehrotra SN. Ascariasis causing intestinal obstruction in a 45-day-old infant. Indian Pediatr. 1981; 18: 751-2.

16. Da Costa-Macedo LM, Rey L. Ascaris lumbricoides in neonate: evidence of congenital transmission of intestinal nematodes. Rev Inst Med Trop São Paulo. 1990; 32: 351-4.

17. Maldonado YA. Impact of fetal and neonatal viral (and Parasitic) infections on later development and disease outcome. In: Barker DJP, Bergmann R, Ogra PL, editors. The window of opportunity: pre-pregnancy to 24 months of age. Bali, Indonesia, April 1-5, 2007. Nestlé Nutrition Workshop Series Pediatric Program. Vol. 61. Vevey: Nestlé; 2007. p. 46-9.

18. Anastasiou E. Parasites in European populations from prehistory to the industrial revolution. In: Mitchell PD, editor. Sanitation, latrines and intestinal parasites in past populations. Farnham: Ashgate; 2015. p. 203-17.

19. Dufour B, Le Baily M. Paléoparasitologie de l’âge du Fer dans l’ouest de l’Europe. Rev Archéol Picardie. 2022; 1-2: 323-9.

20. Mitchell PD. The prehistoric peoples of Europe. In: Mitchell PD, editor. Parasites in past civilizations and their impact upon health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2023. p. 42-52. https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511732386.004.

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, VOLUME 120 | 2025

Research Articles

Evidence of ascariasis in a Celtic newborn from northern Italy

Ramón López-Gijón^1,2,10, Wolf-Rüdiger Teegen^3,4,+, Zita Laffranchi^5,6, Daniele Vitali⁷, Albert Zink⁸, Marco Milella^5,9

¹Universidad de Granada, Facultad de Medicina, Laboratorio de Antropología, Granada, Spain
²Universidade de Évora, Laboratório Hercules, Évora, Portugal
³Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, München, Germany
⁴Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, ArchaeoBioCenter, München, Germany
⁵Universität Bern, Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Abt Anthropologie, Bern, Switzerland
⁶Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern, Switzerland
⁷Université de La Bourgogne, Dijon, France
⁸Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
⁹Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Biologia, Pisa, Italy
¹⁰ University of Coimbra, Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal

DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760250091

692 views 555 downloads

Print PDF

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND Infections with Ascaris lumbricoides can be traced back to the late Pleistocene by palaeoparasitological analysis. Even today, Ascaris infections are still very common worldwide.
OBJECTIVES In a pilot study, soil samples from the pelvic area of ten individuals from the Celtic necropolis of Povegliano Veronese (northern Italy) were examined using palaeoparasitological methods. The burials date from the 3rd to 1st century Before the Common Era (BCE).
METHODS The palaeoparasitological methods already proven in earlier studies were applied.
FINDINGS Positive evidence of Ascaris eggs was obtained in three individuals, including a newborn. This neonate is the focus of the article. The causes of a possible Ascaris infection in a newborn are discussed.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS It may represent the oldest documented instance of ascariasis in a neonatal individual.

key words: Ascaris lumbricoides Iron Age Italy neonate paleoparasitology

REFERENCES