The First Ever Proven Case of Leprosy Found in Israel

by Tanya on  December 18, 2009 at 8:30 AM General Health News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
The DNA of a shrouded man from the first century found in Jerusalem has revealed the earliest proven case of leprosy, Israel's Hebrew university announced on Wednesday.

The find is also the first of fragments of a burial shroud from the time of Jesus in Jerusalem, the university said in a statement.

Unlike the complex weave of the Turin Shroud, which many people believe wrapped the body of Christ, this one is made up of a simple two-way weave, according to textiles historian Orit Shamir.

"Based on the assumption that this is representative of a typical burial shroud widely used at the time of Jesus, the researchers conclude that the Turin Shroud did not originate from Jesus-era Jerusalem," the university said.

The shrouded body, which was dated by radiocarbon methods to 1-50 AD, was found in a burial cave near Jerusalem's Old City next to the area where Judas, of the 12 original apostles of Jesus, is said to have committed suicide.

One particularity about the tomb is that the man did not receive a secondary burial, contrary to common practice at the time.

Mark Spigelman, one of the molecular experts on the research team, believes this is because the man had suffered from leprosy and died of tuberculosis. The DNA of both diseases was found in his bones.

Widely feared in medieval Europe, leprosy had been virtually eliminated there by the 16th century. Some researchers say this is because it was overtaken by tuberculosis.

Details of the findings were to be published on Wednesday in the PloS ONE online journal of scientific and medical research.

Source-AFP
TAN

 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
More News on: Leprosy
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X

Medwonders Health Network

  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
Leprosy
Complete Medindia Resources
News Categories:  
Mental Health Center

General News

» Research on Neglected Diseases to Take Priority Place for WHO » Medical Innovation: Hypodermic Needles for Injection Could Soon be History
» Written Communication Contains Higher Frequency of Positive Words » Canadian Research Urges US and Europe to Implement New System for Regulating Probiotics
» To Err Appeals Cruder Judgment for Male Bosses Than Women » Emotionally Intelligent Easily Conned
» Ukraine Passes Law To Ban Smoking in Public Places » Eating 'Bushmeat' Could Lead to Next HIV Pandemic
Read More >>