To the Editor: In a recent letter (1), Ablin conjectures that translation of the hieroglyphic symbol for AAA in many ancient Egyptian papyri (Ebers, Berlin, Hearst, London, and Kahum), may be suggesting the existence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or its prototype during the time of the pharaohs. While hieroglyphic interpretations remain challenging, the symbol cited in his letter has most commonly been translated as hematuria (2-4) and has most often been related to schistosomiasis haematobia. This infection, caused by the helminth Schistosoma haematobium, has been shown to have occurred in Egypt from early pharaonic times (3200 B.C.), by the demonstration of schistosome eggs (5) and circulating schistosome antigens (6,7) in mummies. Remedies for hematuria were recorded in papyri from many centuries (9 in Hearst, 11 in Berlin, 20 in Ebers), perhaps implying that the condition was serious and widespread. In giving one of the remedies in the Ebers papyrus (circa 1500 B.C.), the text actually mentions worms in the body (although it seems to state that the worms are caused by AAA disease, perhaps inverting the true order of causality). In the Hearst papyrus one of the remedies cited for hematuria is antimony disulfide. Until only 25 years ago, antimonial compounds were the most effective drugs for schistosomiasis chemotherapy.
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