There is new evidence of something that researchers have long suspected: along with people, goods, and ideas, the Silk Road also transported infectious diseases. Studying preserved poop in a latrine at a Silk Road waystation, which was in use from 111 BCE to 109 CE, researchers discovered four species of parasitic worm. One particularly interesting find is the Chinese liver fluke. It is a parasitic worm which causes diarrhea, jaundice, and liver cancer. It’s life cycle requires time in well-watered, marshy areas. The way station is in the eastern end of the Taklamakan Desert. Therefore Chinese liver fluke could not have been picked up at the way station. In fact, the fluke’s closest habitat today is around 1,500 kilometers from the way station where the fluke was found.
Put together, the evidence suggests the unfortunate infected traveler must have come from quite a distance, carrying the parasite with them. Other infectious diseases might have been carried along the Silk Road in a similar way.
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