Original Article

Dicrocoelium Egg Identified in an Ancient Cemetery in Kiasar Archeological Site, Northern Iran, Dated Back 247 BC–224 AD

Abstract

Background: Along with the newly emergence of paleoparasitology research in Iran, findings of parasites from Northern part of the county have not been reported so far. In this study tracking for the lancet liver fluke dates back 250 BC is addressed.

Methods: Samples were taken from grave crypts of the soil layers attached to the pelvic bones from above-mentioned site in 2015. The laboratory examinations were conducted in the Dept. of Medial Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Current rehydration technique using TSP 0.5% was utilized for examining the samples.

Results: Out of 10 burial soil samples examined, one individual was seen parasitized with a Dicrocoelium egg. The burial belonged to an adolescent male 20-22 yr old. The egg was in brown color and the length/width parameters of 36×22/5 µm. Parthian coins found in nearby the burials in Kiasar Cemetery, declared the time of the skeleton about 247 BC – 224 AD confidently.

Conclusion: Although the possibility of transit infection with D. dendriticum is high, yet the environmental and geographical conditions in that time are in favor of a normal human transmission in northern Iran.

 

 

Soulsby EJL (1968). Helminths, arthropods and protozoa of domesticated animals. Helminths, arthropods and protozoa of domesticated animals.

Cengiz ZT, Yilmaz H, Dulger AC, Cicek M (2010). Human infection with Dicrocoelium dendriticum in Turkey. Ann Saudi Med, 30:159-61.

Schweiger F, Kuhn M (2008). Dicrocoelium dendriticum infection in a patient with Crohn's disease. Can J Gastroenterol, 22:571-3.

Jouy-Avantin F, Combes C, Lumley H, Miskovsky JC, Mone H (1999). Helminth eggs in animal coprolites from a Middle Pleistocene site in Europe. J Parasitol, 85:376-9.

Le Bailly M, Bouchet F (2010). Ancient dicrocoeliosis: occurrence, distribution and migration. Acta Trop, 115:175-180.

Mowlavi G, Mokhtarian K, Makki MS, Mobedi I, Masoumian M, Naseri R, Hoseini G, Nekouei P, Mas-Coma S (2015). Dicrocoelium dendriticum found in a Bronze Age cemetery in western Iran in the pre-Persepolis period: The oldest Asian palaeofinding in the present human infection hottest spot region. Parasitol Int, 64:251-5.

Reinhard KJ, Confalonieri UE, Herrmann B, Ferreira LF, de Araujo AJ (1986). Recovery of parasite remains from coprolites and latrines: aspects of paleoparasitological technique.

Craig CF, Faust EC (1951). Clinical Parasitology,Fifth Edition. Lea 8 Febiger, Philadelphia.

Manga-González MY, Gonzalez-Lanza C, Cabanas E, Campo R (2001). Contributions to and review of dicrocoeliosis, with special reference to the intermediate hosts of Dicrocoelium dendriticum. Parasitology, 123, S91–S114.

Motarjemi Y (2013). Encyclopedia of food safety. 1st ed. Academic Press.

Mazoyer M, Roudart L (2006). A history of world agriculture: from the neolithic age to the current crisis. ed. NYU Press.

Bouchet F, Harter S, Le Bailly M (2003). The state of the art of paleoparasitological research in the Old World. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 98:95-101.

Dittmar K, Steyn M (2004). Paleoparasitological analysis of coprolites from K2, an Iron Age archaeological site in South Africa: the first finding of Dicrocoelium sp. eggs. J Parasitol, 90:171-173.

Home PD, Tuck JA (1996). Archaeoparasitology at a 17th century colonial site in Newfoundland. J Parasitol, 82:512-515.

Khanjari A, Bahonar A, Fallah S, Bagheri M, Alizadeh A, Fallah M, Khanjari Z (2014). Prevalence of fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis in slaughtered sheep and goats in Amol Abattoir, Mazandaran, northern Iran. Asian Pacific J Trop Dis, 4:120-124.

Ahmadi R, Sikejor EM, Maleki M (2010). Prevalence of Dicrocoelium dendriticum Infection in Cattle, Sheep and Goat in Gilan Province, Northern Iran. J Animal Vet Adv, 9:2723-2724.

Files
IssueVol 46 No 6 (2017) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
Keywords
Parasite Paleoparasitology Dicrocoelium dendriticum Iran

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
BIZHANI N, SHARIFI AM, ROKNI MB, DUPOUY CAMET J, REZAEIAN M, FALLAH KIAPI M, PAKNEZHAD N, NAJAFI F, MOWLAVI G. Dicrocoelium Egg Identified in an Ancient Cemetery in Kiasar Archeological Site, Northern Iran, Dated Back 247 BC–224 AD. Iran J Public Health. 2017;46(6):792-795.