Experts have warned that a preserved cadaver that was accidentally mummified in the 1800s and is now on display in Mexico may have “fungal growths” that could be transmitted to visitors.
The mummy, one of six corpses in glass cases at a Mexico City tourism show, may be dangerous, scientists worry.
The cases may be airtight, but they are exhibited “without the safeguards for the public against biohazards.”
When the preserved corpses were interred in dry, mineral-rich soil in the state of Guanajuato, they were accidentally mummified.
They were exhumed beginning in the 1860s when their families could no longer afford burial fees and later displayed.
According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, a number of the corpses retain their hair, leathery skin, and original attire. While one appears to have fungal growths.
They are among the mummies ordinarily displayed at the Museo de las Momias in the state capital of Guanajuato. But they have traveled before; in 2009, some of them were displayed in the United States.
Some of the naturally preserved remains may have been buried alive or died during a cholera outbreak.
The federal institute distanced itself from a decision by the state government to display mummies in glass cases at the tourism exhibition, adding that it had not been consulted about the display.
“It is even more concerning that they are still being displayed without biohazard protections for the public,” the institute said.
‘At least one of the displayed corpses, which was inspected by the institute in November 2021 and is depicted in some of the published photographs, exhibits indications of the proliferation of possible fungal colonies,’ the institute wrote.
All of this should be carefully examined to determine if it poses a danger to cultural heritage and viewers.
The specialists did not specify which types of fungi they were referring to.
