Tickborne Encephalitis Virus, Northeastern Italy

Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 12, No. 10, October 2006 1617 Leishmania DNA–positive samples in the Nubian mummies (12.9%) suggests that leishmaniasis was endemic in Nubia during the Early Christian period and, in light of the data on the ancient Egyptian mummies, probably already several thousand years before. Taken together, our results support the theory that Sudan could have been indeed the original focus of visceral leishmaniasis (4). Our study shows a completely new aspect of molecular paleopathology. The detection of ancient pathogen DNA is not only used to identify a certain disease and gain information on its frequency and evolutionary origin but also to trace back cultural contacts and their role in the transmission and spread of infectious diseases.