Mummies May Aid Fight Against Hepatitis B

An international team of scientists said ancient South Korean mummies found infected with the hepatitis B virus may help fight the disease.

The discovery marked the first time samples of hepatitis B have been found in a mummified body. When the virus was discovered in the 500-year-old mummified liver of a child, researchers at Dankook and Seoul National Universities invited Hebrew University Professor Mark Spigelman to South Korea to verify the findings.

Spigelman and researchers from the Hadassah University Hospital-Ein Kerem in Jerusalem and University College London are now part of an international team studying the extremely well preserved mummies, which were discovered during the relocation of a cemetery.

The researchers intend to study the genome of the ancient virus to see if there any significant changes have occurred during five centuries.

Five hundred years ago, was it hepatitis B? Could it be that later on it split from ‘X’ and became ‘A’ and ‘B’? Was it already evolved? That’s what we don’t know, said Spigelman. This is a ‘know your enemy’ expedition to see if we can get information that can help today’s — and tomorrow’s — sufferers.