Did ancient Egytians suffer the same diseases common in Egypt today?
RD: The ancient Egyptians suffered many of the same diseases as those commonly found in Egypt today. In particular, they suffered from a variety of parasitic diseases. We are currently studying one of these–schistosomiasis or Bilharzia–over a 5,000 year period, in co-operation with the Egyptian Ministry of Health. They have a long-term program to assess the incidence, diagnostic methods, and treatment of this disease in Egypt today, and have data on 100,000 cases. Our Manchester team is building up a picture of the pattern of the disease in ancient Egypt, using the tissue bank samples and immunological tests specially developed in Manchester as a diagnostic tool to identify the presence of the disease in mummies. Ultimately, we will compare the patterns and development of the disease over 5,000 years, and try to determine if the genetic make-up of the causative parasite has changed over that time span. This may help to inform preventative treatment methods being developed for use in
