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PMID: 8134354 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in a pre-Columbian Peruvian mummy.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ·Vol. 91 ·No. 6 ·1994-03-15 ·Pages 2091-4

Salo WL, Aufderheide AC, Buikstra J, Holcomb TA

Abstract

The existence of tuberculosis in the pre-Columbian Americas is controversial because the morphology of the lesion is not specific, the organism is culturally nonviable in ancient tissues, and nonpathogenic soil mycobacteria can contaminate buried bodies. We report the recovery of DNA unique to Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a lung lesion of a spontaneously mummified, 1000-year-old adult female body in southern Peru. This provides the most specific evidence possible for the pre-Columbian presence of human tuberculosis in the New World.

MeSH Terms
Adult Biological Evolution DNA, Bacterial/analysis Female Humans Lung/microbiology,pathology Middle Aged Mummies/pathology Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification Peru Polymerase Chain Reaction Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/microbiology,pathology
Chemicals
DNA, Bacterial
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Salo W L
School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Duluth 55812-2487.
Aufderheide A C
Buikstra J
Holcomb T A
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Article Info
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abbr.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.91.6.2091
Published
1994-03-15
Pages
2091-4
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7505876
PMCID
PMC43315
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1073/pnas.91.6.2091 PMC Full Text View journal details
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