CAIRO — In correspondence published Oct. 25 by The Lancet Microbe, a journal that publishes research on clinically relevant microbes at all scales, researchers from Upstate Medical University of New York and Aswan University in Egypt called for tracking the history of the monkeypox virus in ancient Egyptian animal mummies.

In their correspondence, the researchers said, “Although the world has long been fascinated by human mummies, interest in animal mummies has only recently increased. Ancient Egyptian animal mummies are less well researched than human mummies, but once well studied, could open the door to understanding epidemic dynamics at the human-animal interface in ancient times and the subsequent impact on modern diseases.”

The researchers’ correspondence came in response to a study published in The Lancet Microbe in late August, which postulates the possible existence of monkeypox in ancient Egypt. They said, however, that some points mentioned in the study might be confusing.

Hani Aiash, assistant dean of Upstate Medical University of New York, professor of medicine and surgery and co-writer of the recent correspondence, told Al-Monitor, “Egyptian mummies — human or animal — constitute a very large world full of secrets, and researchers are working to unveil such secrets. However, focus in the past decades has been on studying human, not animal mummies. This is why scientific studies must be conducted on the mummified animals that Egypt has discovered over the past years.”