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. 2014:21:9.
doi: 10.1051/parasite/2014010. Epub 2014 Feb 28.

Probable hepatic capillariosis and hydatidosis in an adolescent from the late Roman period buried in Amiens (France)

Gholamreza Mowlavi  1 , Sacha Kacki  2 , Jean Dupouy-Camet  3 , Iraj Mobedi  4 , Mahsasadat Makki  4 , Majid Fasihi Harandi  5 , Saied Reza Naddaf  6
Affiliations

Probable hepatic capillariosis and hydatidosis in an adolescent from the late Roman period buried in Amiens (France)

Gholamreza Mowlavi et al. Parasite. 2014.

Abstract
in English, French

Two calcified objects recovered from a 3rd to 4th-century grave of an adolescent in Amiens (Northern France) were identified as probable hydatid cysts. By using thin-section petrographic techniques, probable Calodium hepaticum (syn. Capillaria hepatica) eggs were identified in the wall of the cysts. Human hepatic capillariosis has not been reported from archaeological material so far, but could be expected given the poor level of environmental hygiene prevalent in this period. Identification of tissue-dwelling parasites such as C. hepaticum in archaeological remains is particularly dependent on preservation conditions and taphonomic changes and should be interpreted with caution due to morphological similarities with Trichuris sp. eggs.

Deux objets calcifiés découverts dans la tombe d’un adolescent du 3ème-4ème siècle à Amiens (France) ont été identifiés comme des kystes hydatiques probables. En utilisant des techniques pétrographiques, des œufs de Calodium hepaticum (syn. Capillaria hepatica) ont été identifiés dans la paroi de ces kystes. La capillariose hépatique n’a jamais été rapportée de restes archéologiques mais n’est pas inattendue compte tenu du bas niveau d’hygiène de cette époque. L’identification de parasites tissulaires comme C. hepaticum dans des vestiges archéologiques est particulièrement dépendante des conditions de conservation et de changements taphonomiques et doit être interprétée avec circonspection en raison des similitudes morphologiques de ces œufs avec ceux du trichocéphale (Trichuris sp.).

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Cysts obtained from the grave of a late Roman adolescent in Amiens, France.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Laminated layers observed on a thin section of the cyst wall suggesting hydatidosis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Probable Calodium hepaticum eggs detected in the rehydrated pulverized cyst (a) and in thin-section slides (b–d). Scale bars = 50 μm, a–d: from top to base.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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