Malaria : Italy already affected during the Ancient times

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Published the 31.07.2017 at 15h18

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paludismethalassémiehistoire

Malaria has just taken a shot of old. And the story a hell of a stroke of the brush. According to a study conducted in Switzerland and published in Physical Anthropology, malaria was already endemic at the time of the Roman empire. In Sardinia, more particularly, the parasite would have appeared there are more than 2 000 years. A discovery allowed by the analysis of the human remains of the period.

The researchers from the university of Zurich (Switzerland) focused on the body of 19 Sardis found in roman necropolis and punic. But the DNA of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria, is difficult to find after so many years of exposure to the elements.

A widespread disease

The Swiss are so interested in the indirect signs of the presence of malaria. More specifically, in the case of thalassaemia, a genetic disease that is characterized by insufficient production of hemoglobin. The patients generally live in good health, but are poor hosts for the Plasmodium falciparum, and thus are less affected by the parasite.

Natural selection has favoured individuals thus protected, and without surprise, in the regions most affected by malaria, thalassemia is more common. In Sardinia, 11% to 21% of the population suffers from it. And researchers have found traces of this pathology in Sardis who have lived in the time of ancient Rome.

This element calls into question the whole history of malaria in the region. Because until now, historians had believed that the disease was not endemic before the Middle Ages. The parasite would have in fact been introduced a lot sooner than estimated. Without this, the beta-thalassemia would not have been as widespread.