Molecular evidence of bacteremia by gastrointestinal pathogenic bacteria in an infant mummy from ancient Egypt

In this study, we describe an infant mummy from ancient Egypt that showed m acromorphologic signs of chronic anemia and vitamin C deficiency. From this infant, we have obtained a sterile sample from a metatarsal bone to extrac t ancient bacterial DNA. Following polymerase chain reaction amplification and subcloning of the amplicons, the sequence of the 16S ribosomal DNA was determined in several resulting clones. The presence of pathogenic and apat hogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, are indicated by our result, pr oviding evidence of bacteremia, which probably contributed to death due to septicemia. These findings suggest that the infant, who already had chronic anemia and vitamin C deficiency, acquired a gastrointestinal infection, wh ich finally led to a systemic spread. To our knowledge, this is the first c ase identifying potentially septicemic bacterial dissemination in an ancien t Egyptian mummy. Using our approach, we hope to investigate distinct paleo microbiological aspects of ancient populations, which will potentially enli ghten our understanding of the development and evolution of pathogenic bact eria.