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Italians find pig bug in mummy’s tummy
(ANSA) - Florence, November 15 - Italian researchers have found a pig-related disease in a mummy, squashing a common belief that Ancient Egyptians had a dietary ban on pork .
Until now historians have found evidence suggesting ancient high priests in Egypt prohibited pig meat, in common with many Middle Eastern peoples who still don’t eat pork today .
"It has hitherto been thought that there was a sort of religious-hygienic ban on eating pork in Ancient Egypt," said Pisa University historical pathologist Fabrizio Bruschi .
The researchers recently found the oldest recorded case of a rare disease called cystercosis in the belly of a second-century BC mummy. Cystercosis, which can spark dangerous mood swings and epilepsy, is caused by an intestinal parasite contained in raw or poorly cooked pork .
It can also get into the body from fruit and vegetables that have been contaminated with pig faeces. Cystercosis, which has only recently been recognized and is very uncommon in the industrialised world, strikes the human nervous system. It develops when people consume the larval form of the parasitic tapeworm Taenia solium. The larvae eventually affect the muscles and brain, and moving larvae can be detected in the affected person’s eyes. In the brain, the larvae can severely damage the frontal lobe and cause personality changes. The most common symptom of this disease is mood swings. Last year an American executive died after a bizarre stunt thought to have been induced by cystercosis contracted in Mexico. He climbed onto the roof of his moving car and "surfed" on top, then jumped off and was killed. As with all serious brain damage, there is no direct treatment for cystercosis. Patients are sometimes given antidepressants to help with the mood swings and psychotherapy to help them resist irrational impulses. The Italian discovery is set for publication in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene .
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