Submitted by Administrator on Fri, 16/08/2019 - 14:01
The earliest evidence of fish tapeworm in Britain has been discovered preserved in human faeces, according to experts at Cambridge University.
The earliest evidence of fish tapeworm in Britain has been discovered preserved in human faeces, according to experts at Cambridge University.
The finds were unearthed at a site dubbed "Britain's Pompeii", a burnt-out 3,000-year-old village at Must Farm in Cambridgeshire.
Fish tapeworm can grow up to 10m (32ft) long and live coiled in the intestines.
The university said the research offered the first clear understanding of prehistoric Fen people's diseases.
Cambridge University's Dr Marissa Ledger said it also appeared they shared food with their dogs, because both were infected by similar parasitic worms from eating the raw fish, amphibians and molluscs.