Ancient DNA could help to understand recent tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas
Densely populated areas, urban lifestyles, sanitation issues, pollution and animal contact — all conditions present in both ancient civilizations and the modern world — have enabled Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterial cause of TB, to persist for millennia. Stock photo of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
For over a year, Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas City, Kansas, have been fighting an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) that has claimed two lives and infected nearly 150 residents.
The outbreak is the fourth in the past decade and points to increasing infection rates, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. While CDC and local officials have said the outbreak was unexpected, research from one Arizona State University expert suggests there may be ancient predictors of disease spread.
Jane Buikstra, a Regents Professor within the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at ASU, and Gwen Robbins Schug, a biology professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, recently co-authored “From ONE Health to ONE Paleopathology: Deep-Time Perspectives on Health in the Face of Climate and Environmental Change.”
In the paper, Buikstra and Schug use the interdisciplinary study of ONE Paleopathology to understand the conditions that enable infectious diseases, like TB, to thrive.
Paleopathology is, in layman’s terms, the study of ancient diseases by examining preserved human and animal remains. ONE Paleopathology takes that study a step further and provides a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to environmental health from a deep-time and evolutionary perspective. By incorporating archaeological, paleoenvironmental and paleopathology together, Buikstra and Schug believe ONE Paleopathology can successfully inform contemporary public health and policy.
“I like to think proactively in terms of public health and disease transmission issues. For example, if we understand that disease origin and evolution is a global issue, we understand the importance of global efforts to control and extinguish disease,” Buikstra said.
To illustrate the modern significance of ONE Paleopathology, Buikstra and Schug use the topical example of TB, which is not only affecting Kansas but is also the 13th leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
“TB is an interesting case study for ONE Paleopathology because there have been times when the disease’s prevalence decreased before modern, effective treatments were available. We don’t know exactly what caused the decrease, so there is more to be studied than just the epidemiology of the disease,” Buikstra said.
By examining skeletal remains and ancient DNA, paleopathologists have been able to trace the spread of TB from Roman societies, medieval European populations and even the ancient Americas via seals and sea lions. The ancient pathology of TB points to a connection between certain sociocultural phenomena and the global spread of TB.
Densely populated areas, urban lifestyles, sanitation issues, pollution and animal contact — all conditions present in both ancient civilizations and the modern world — have enabled Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterial cause of TB, to persist for millennia.
According to Buikstra and Schug, taking a longer view of TB is a conduit to understanding the conditions in which the illness thrives, enabling health officials to mitigate, and perhaps even predict, similar exposures to the one in Kansas.
“ONE Paleopathology uses historic data to understand how historical and sociocultural factors shape epidemiology, in some cases more than the biology of the pathogen. For example, the spread of misinformation, rejection of public health behaviors, and social determinants of health in the COVID-19 pandemic closely resembled what happened in the 1918 influenza epidemic,” Schug said.
Buikstra and Schug recognize that using ancient data to address modern health concerns might be a tough pill for some to swallow. Still, they remain steadfast in their belief that ONE Paleopathology should be a part of the discussion when determining future health interventions and policy.
“I’ve been attuned to the responsibility that we scholars have for engaging the public in the significance of our research since I first conducted archaeological research. As my research has pivoted to paleopathology, I resonated with President Michael Crow's call for public engagement at ASU. I see ONE Paleopathology as a way to encourage global interdisciplinarity across generations,” Buikstra said.
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