New lipid biomarker data confirm the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the Granville mummy

Minnikin, David E. and Lee, Oona Y-C. and Wu, Houdini H. T. and Besra, Gurdyal S. and Bull, lan D. and Taylor, John A. and Spigelman, Mark and Donoghue, Helen D. (2020) New lipid biomarker data confirm the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the Granville mummy. In: Aegyptus et Pannonia VI. Health and Life in Ancient Egypt. Mummies in Focus Proceedings of the Conference held 27-29th August 2019, Budapest. Magyar-Egyiptomi Baráti Társaság, Ókori Egyiptomi Bizottság, Budapest, pp. 39-46. ISBN 9786150103617

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Abstract

Dating from c. 600 BC, the British Museum remnants of the mummified Lady Irtyersenuof Thebes remain from a thorough examination by Augustus Bozzi Granville almost200 yvears ago. A previous investigation diagnosed the presence of tuberculosis in theremains, using biomarkers specific for tuberculosis. DNA fragments were amplified andlipids known as mycolic acids were profiled. The specificity of this diagnosis is nowreinforced by the detection, in lung samples, of additional lipid biomarkers, namely my-colipenic and mycocerosic acids. A feasible scenario for the evolution of tuberculosisand its spread to the ancient Nile valley is outlined.

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