Archaeologists stunned by discovery of antibiotic resistance in 1,000-year-old mummy

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1929, almost a 1,000 years after the death of one scientifically intriguing woman recently found in the Andes Mountains. As researchers examined the woman's mummified body, they discovered something surprising: In her gut were bacteria containing antibiotic-resistant genes, even though she had lived long before Fleming ever made his petri dish discovery.

The mummy, who was naturally preserved due to the cold climate in the Andes, was found in Cuzco, the ancient Inca Empire capital, in a basket with an opening so her head could be seen. She was probably hung in a family tomb, as was customary. After being found, the basket mummy was brought to Italy for study, Discovery News reports.

Having died between the ages of 18 and 23, the woman showed signs of chronic Chagas' disease, a condition caused by a parasite that is transmitted by a bloodsucking insect. She also had bacterial diseases and some types of human papilloma virus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted virus. Her heart, esophagus, and colon were much larger than is normal and the Chagas' disease appeared to be her likely cause of death. However, she seemed to have survived for some time even after the swelling of her organs because she was being treated with drugs, probably coca leaves.

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But even if she'd been alive today, there would have been little relief for the basket mummy's bacterial illnesses because of the genes of the bacteria themselves: They are resistant to modern broad-spectrum antibiotics including fosfomycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, quinolones, and vancomycin. Vancomycin, which was only discovered a little over 50 years ago, has grown to be antibiotic-resistant in recent years, with many experts blaming the increased use, or misuse, of the antibiotic. However, as the basket mummy from Cuzco shows, antibiotic-resistant genes have existed in some bacteria for at least a thousand years or longer.