Roman skeleton may give TB clues

BBC ^ | Tuesday, September 16, 2008 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

A newly-discovered Roman skeleton could be one of the earliest British victims of tuberculosis, experts believe... The man's remains - which date from the fourth century AD - were found on a construction site at York University. The first known case of TB in Britain is from the Iron Age - but finding cases from Roman times is still rare, especially in the north. Most finds have been confined to the southern half of England. If the new case is confirmed as TB it could provide scientists with a valuable tool to trace the movement of the disease as it is relatively rare for specimens to be discovered in the UK that date from any earlier than the 12th century... He was interred in a shallow scoop in a flexed position, on his left side. Tests showed he was between 26- and 35-years-old and suffered from iron deficiency anaemia during childhood.

[SunkenCiv]

The skeleton is an unusual find

[SunkenCiv]

Did the Romans destroy Europe’s HIV resistance?
New Scientist | Wednesday, September 3, 2008 | Matt Walker
Posted on 09/04/2008 10:56:55 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2075126/posts

[SunkenCiv]

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[itsthejourney]

It is possible that the man was buried here because the tuberculosis infection was so rare at the time, and people were reluctant to transport the body any distance

Or because it was such a shallow grave, near a well travelled road from Rome, and because TB wasn't normally found in that area of England that he was a stranger, possibly recognized as non-Christian, travelling through the region and they buried him along the road without benefit of a Christian church burial.

[CholeraJoe]

Potts’ Disease or tuberculous infection of the spine is a rarely seen complication of TB in this day and age. As the infection reactivates in the adult, the mycobacteria may seed throughout the body causing infection outside the lungs in bone, the kidneys, or the nervous system. Eventually, untreated infection in these sites or the primary pulmonary process may cause death.

As recently as the 1970’s when I got into medicine, we still saw extra-pulmonary TB occasionally. It disappeared in civilized countries until the AIDS epidemic brought back some of the unusual manifestations.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!