Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) indicates a perennial burden on humankind, thus the focus of research keeps to be drawn on the evolution and pathomechanism of its causative agents, namely on the members of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Beside the great stability of the bacterial cell wall and the rise of drug resistant strains, several risk factors (e.g. poor living conditions, smoking, HIV infection, etc.) are making this disease even more concerning. As for another risk factor, being in close contact with a TB infected person requires special attention.
Although paleopathology has been serving valuable data in TB research for a long time, investigating the impact of transmission among family members is hardly possible in past populations. An exceptional opportunity has been provided on this topic by the examination of the Vác Mummy Collection. A large group of naturally mummified individuals from the 18th century CE were found in the crypt of the Dominican church of Vác, in 1994. Later investigations carried out exploration of family connections; furthermore, among the paleopathological findings, in many instances the traces of TB related aDNA was confirmed.
The aim of this poster is to present and compare the mycocerosic acid based results gained from the three known members of the Hausmann family, a mother and two of her daughters. In the case of two individuals, analyses provided positive signs of TB infection, and in the case of one individual, some non-definitive traces are suggesting the possibility of the infection, as well.