Dysentery found in Old Testament latrine, 7th Century BCE

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the discovery of Giardia duodenalis in ancient latrines from the biblical Kingdom of Judah, dating back to the 7th Century BCE. It explores the implications of this finding for understanding historical health issues related to dysentery and intestinal parasites in ancient populations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight the significance of finding Giardia duodenalis in ancient latrines, suggesting it indicates a historical prevalence of dysentery in elite populations.
  • Others reference previous research on Entamoeba and other intestinal parasites found in ancient Judean toilets, noting a broader context of health issues in that era.
  • A participant humorously questions the modern comforts of ancient toilets, suggesting a light-hearted take on the historical findings.
  • Another participant responds to the humor, indicating a discomfort with the idea of shared seating in ancient latrines.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion includes both serious scientific inquiry and light-hearted banter, with no consensus on the humorous aspects but a shared interest in the historical implications of the findings.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not delve into the specific methodologies used in the research or the broader implications of the findings beyond the immediate historical context.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in archaeology, ancient health practices, or the historical context of diseases may find this discussion relevant.

pinball1970
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TL;DR
A new analysis of ancient feces taken from two Jerusalem latrines dating back to the biblical Kingdom of Judah has uncovered traces of a single-celled microorganism Giardia duodenalis—a common cause of debilitating diarrhea in humans.
General description and link.

https://phys.org/news/2023-05-early-toilets-reveal-dysentery-testament.html

"A new analysis of ancient feces taken from two Jerusalem latrines dating back to the biblical Kingdom of Judah has uncovered traces of a single-celled microorganism Giardia duodenalis—a common cause of debilitating diarrhea in humans."

The latrine would have been upper class elite based on the archaeology of the structures around it.

The article goes on to say,

"Previous research has dated traces of the Entamoeba parasite, which also causes dysentery, as far back as Neolithic Greece over 4,000 years ago. Previous work has also shown that users of ancient Judean toilets were infected by other intestinal parasites including whipworm, tapeworm and pinworm.

This research was undertaken through a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, Tel Aviv University, and the Israel Antiquities Authority."

The paper here.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...-century-bce/FD98E6D61F8D264616547EA4EBED69E4

ELISA was the technique used to identify the parasite antigens."microscopy with immunofluorescent monoclonal antibodies (Faulkner et al., Reference Faulkner, Patton and Johnson1989; Le Bailly et al., Reference Le Bailly, Gonçalves, Harter-Lailheugue, Prodéo, Araujo and Bouchet2008) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) that use antibodies to detect antigens uniquely made by these protozoan organisms (Gonçalves et al., Reference Gonçalves, Araújo, Duarte, Pereira da Silva, Reinhard, Bouchet and Ferreira2002, Reference Gonçalves, Da Silva, de Andrade, Reinhard, da Rocha, Le Bailly, Bouchet, Ferreira and Araújo2004; Le Bailly and Bouchet, Reference Le Bailly and Bouchet2006) have been found to be a successful way to detect these protozoa"
 
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Greg Bernhardt said:
Do they come with heated seats? :-p
Only by the person who was there before you.
 
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BillTre said:
Only by the person who was there before you.
Not at all keen on that even if it is a normal seat.