A mummy was put up at a fair in Mexico that can infect visitors with a fungal infection (9 photos)

Experts warn that the body, which was mummified naturally in the 1800s and is now on display on the tourist fair in the capital of Mexico, there may be "fungal growths" capable of infect visitors.





Scientists are concerned that one of the mummies exhibited in glass cases at a fair in Mexico City could be dangerous for the population. It is not clear how airtight the "glass coffins" are, and experts fear that the corpses are exhibited "without measures to protect the public from biological hazards.



The surviving corpses underwent natural mummification in as a result of burial in crypts in dry, mineral-rich soil in state of Guanajuato. From the 1860s, bodies began to be dug up as families the dead could no longer pay for burial, and later the mummies were put up in museum.

According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History Mexico, some of the corpses still have hair, skin and clothes, and one of the mummies was found to have fungal growths.



Usually these mummies are exhibited at the Museo de las Momias in the capital of the state of Guanajuato, but periodically "tour"; some of of them were put up north of the US border in 2009. There is the opinion that some of the people whose remains were mummified naturally were either buried alive or died during the outbreak cholera, but this has not been proven.



The Federal Institute distanced itself from the decision state governments to display mummies in glass cases at tourism fair; they introduced him, they added that the institute did not consulted about the exhibition.

“Even more disturbing is that they are still exhibited without measures protecting the public from biological hazards, the institute said. — Judging by some published photographs, at least one from exposed corpses, which was examined by the Institute in November 2021 years, signs of growth of possible colonies of the fungus are visible. All of them should be carefully examined to determine whether they are signs of a threat both to the cultural heritage itself and to those who directly treats him and comes to see him.

The experts did not specify what type of fungal formations they are talking about.



The mummies were preserved naturally, which, according to some, due to the local climate and mineral-rich soil. Others believe that this was due to the fact that the bodies were stored in sealed crypts, but no one knows for sure.

Natural mummification is the process of preserving the skin and organs of a deceased person or animal without the introduction of chemicals. This is a rare occurrence and only occurs under certain conditions.



Museo de las Momias with over 4,000 visitors person a week, offers tourists for a small fee to gawk at more than 100 human corpses that have been recovered from graves on nearby cemetery.

Behind the fragile glass showcases in the museum are murder victims, criminals who were buried alive, and babies buried in the costumes of saints - a traditional rite in the Mexican faith, to make it easier for children to go to heaven.