New Evidence of Entamoeba histolytica Infections in Pre-Columbian and Colonial Cemeteries in the Caribbean

Matthieu Le Bailly (1) , Thomas Romon (2, 3) , Sacha Kacki (3)

1 LCE - Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249)
2 Inrap - Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives
3 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie

ELISA was used to test the presence of the human pathogenic amoeba Entamoeba histolytica in archaeological samples from 2 cemeteries in Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean. Results show that 15.9% of the population was infected during the colonial period, a value comparable to the current rates observed in humans in adjacent countries. This study also confirms the presence of the current strain of E. histolytica in pre-Columbian South America before the European colonization in the 15th century and raises the possibility of an earlier transfer from Europe to the Americas.

Domaines: Parasitologie; Archéologie et Préhistoire

Matthieu Le Bailly, Thomas Romon, Sacha Kacki. New Evidence of Entamoeba histolytica Infections in Pre-Columbian and Colonial Cemeteries in the Caribbean. Journal of Parasitology, 2014, 100 (5), pp.684-686. ⟨10.1645/13-476.1⟩. ⟨hal-02502609⟩