A parasitological study on the possible toilet ruins of the Japanese colonial period in Korea

Jieun Kim, Min Seo, Hisashi Fujita, Jong Yil Chai, Jin Woo Park, Jun Won Jang, In Soo Jang, Dong Hoon Shin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In the past decade, experts have conducted parasitological research on archaeological specimens in Korea to collect historical parasite infection data. In these studies, parasi-tologists successfully described the infection pattern of each parasite species in history. However, in the first half of the 20th century, archaeoparasitological reports have been scant. In 2021, we conducted a parasitological examination of a toilet-like structure that emerged in the early 20th century. This structure was built by stacking 2 wooden barrels; and in the study samples, we found ancient Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides (un-fertilized), and Taenia spp. eggs and therefore proposed a higher possibility that the barrels could have been used as a toilet at the time. To understand how the antihelminthic campaign since the 1960s helped reduce parasite infection rates in Korea, more research should focus on early-20th-century toilet ruins.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)198-201
Number of pages4
JournalParasites, Hosts and Diseases
Volume61
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.

Keywords

  • Ascaris
  • Japanese colonial period
  • Korea
  • Taenia
  • Trichuris
  • toilet

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