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Researchers from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet are trying to determine if there are any resistant bacteria in the stomach of the 5,300-year-old Iceman.
"What we see when we examine Otzi (Iceman) will perhaps improve our understanding of the development process of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics," Lars Engstrand, professor of infectious disease at the Karolinska Institutet, said Tuesday.
Engstrand together with German and French researchers took 20 samples from the extensively studied Iceman's stomach and large intestine on Nov.8. They also examined the brain, lungs, prostate and stomach of the mummified human,the Swedish Daily SvD reported.
Two tourists discovered the Iceman in a glacier crevice in the Otztal Alps about 3,200 meters above sea level in September 1991. The Iceman was found to be a mummified man about 5,300 years old.
Engstrand said that the researchers cut a small hole in the stomach and picked out food the Iceman had eaten 5,300 years ago.
"I'm surprised it's so well preserved considering how tremendously old it is, but that's a result of the body being frozen. We're going to be able to check Otzi's bacteria DNA against a database, which will allow us to identify the bacteria he has in his stomach," said Molecular biologist Annika Fahlen.
Engstrand regards the issue of resistant genes in bacteria as being of significant interest since it could well contribute to the development of more effective antibiotics.
He assumed that the Iceman's stomach will contain bacteria with antibiotic resistance genes. The hypothesis is based on earlier discoveries of resistance genes in soil bacteria not exposed to antibiotics.
"We've never before had a human sample from that time but now we do. We want to examine how genes adapted after bacteria became exposed to antibiotics. It's possible that this may be of use when developing new strains of antibiotics," he said.
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