A Long View of Infectious Disease– Contexts, Etiologies, Mitigations and Impacts: AnAncient/Modern Comparative Analysis (...with an Eye to the Future)Giovanni Meledandri*, Mark Orsag**, Amanda McKinney*** and Melissa Clouse***** Humanities Department – Latin Language and Public Health, Guglielmo Marconi University,Rome (Italy) **History Department, Doane University, Crete, Nebraska (USA) ***Health ScienceFreelance Faculty, Bellevue University, Omaha, Nebraska (USA) **** Colorado State UniversityGlobal/Bryan Health, Lincoln, Nebraska (USA)This paper will examine commonalities and differences amongst infectious disease outbreaks,ranging from an Italian fifth-century BCE event, later recorded by the early Principate historiansDionysius of Halicarnassus and Livy [1], to the current spread of such diseases as Dengue fever andZika virus. Despite gaps in terms of scientific knowledge between the ancient and modern periodsas well as the “less than certainties” of the etiologies of ancient outbreaks, commonalities relating tothe triggering and feedbacking effects of climate (and climate change), specifics of environmentaldisruption and (especially seasonal) ecology, for example, all emerge strongly from the historicalrecord. The comparative effects of population predispositions are also examined. This, in terms ofprevailing R0 dynamics in relation to specific, or a range of, pathogens, the realities of medicalintervention or lack thereof and the feedbacking effects of such underlying factors as nutritional andimmunological health and any chronic disease burdens within an affected population. Points ofcomparison here will be two pandemics– the third-century CE Plague of Cyprian pandemic andCovid-19 [2].A further strength of our study is its consideration of political and cultural contexts. This includestextual analysis of ancient sources to formulate hypotheses about the etiology of epidemics inancient Rome. While lacking scientific knowledge about microbial genesis, ancient Greeks and theRomans shared concepts and experiences concerning public health. Such discourse was often ofgreat socio-political importance; the first century BCE dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, forexample, claimed the ability to master the epidemic fulgors with which the god Apollo Pythioscould disseminate deadly plagues among humans [3]. Sulla thus, rather unscrupulously, used thethreat of infectious disease to bolster his own authority. Recent modern examples of “vaccinepolitics”, during the Covid pandemic, demonstrate strong parallels! Through such multifacetedanalysis, we elucidate parameters for holistically understanding infectious disease outbreaks– pastand present. A concluding section examines how our broader conceptual framework can contributeto potentially better understanding of the holistic impact of infectious disease outbreaks in theremainder of the twenty-first century.[1]. D. of Halicarnassus, The Roman Antiquities, IX, 67-69.; T. Livius, Ab Urbe condita libri, III,67, 6-7.[2]. McKinney, Amanda, “Pandemics, Ancient and Modern: Causes, Effects, Differences and Parallels,”The Academic Minute, 6 December 2021. https://www.academicminute.org[3]. T. Mommsen on Appian, in J. Carcopino, Silla, 2005.
A Long View of Infectious Disease– Contexts, Etiologies, Mitigations and Impacts: An Ancient/Modern Comparative Analysis (...with an Eye to the Future)
Meledandri G
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
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In corso di stampa
Abstract
A Long View of Infectious Disease– Contexts, Etiologies, Mitigations and Impacts: AnAncient/Modern Comparative Analysis (...with an Eye to the Future)Giovanni Meledandri*, Mark Orsag**, Amanda McKinney*** and Melissa Clouse***** Humanities Department – Latin Language and Public Health, Guglielmo Marconi University,Rome (Italy) **History Department, Doane University, Crete, Nebraska (USA) ***Health ScienceFreelance Faculty, Bellevue University, Omaha, Nebraska (USA) **** Colorado State UniversityGlobal/Bryan Health, Lincoln, Nebraska (USA)This paper will examine commonalities and differences amongst infectious disease outbreaks,ranging from an Italian fifth-century BCE event, later recorded by the early Principate historiansDionysius of Halicarnassus and Livy [1], to the current spread of such diseases as Dengue fever andZika virus. Despite gaps in terms of scientific knowledge between the ancient and modern periodsas well as the “less than certainties” of the etiologies of ancient outbreaks, commonalities relating tothe triggering and feedbacking effects of climate (and climate change), specifics of environmentaldisruption and (especially seasonal) ecology, for example, all emerge strongly from the historicalrecord. The comparative effects of population predispositions are also examined. This, in terms ofprevailing R0 dynamics in relation to specific, or a range of, pathogens, the realities of medicalintervention or lack thereof and the feedbacking effects of such underlying factors as nutritional andimmunological health and any chronic disease burdens within an affected population. Points ofcomparison here will be two pandemics– the third-century CE Plague of Cyprian pandemic andCovid-19 [2].A further strength of our study is its consideration of political and cultural contexts. This includestextual analysis of ancient sources to formulate hypotheses about the etiology of epidemics inancient Rome. While lacking scientific knowledge about microbial genesis, ancient Greeks and theRomans shared concepts and experiences concerning public health. Such discourse was often ofgreat socio-political importance; the first century BCE dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, forexample, claimed the ability to master the epidemic fulgors with which the god Apollo Pythioscould disseminate deadly plagues among humans [3]. Sulla thus, rather unscrupulously, used thethreat of infectious disease to bolster his own authority. Recent modern examples of “vaccinepolitics”, during the Covid pandemic, demonstrate strong parallels! Through such multifacetedanalysis, we elucidate parameters for holistically understanding infectious disease outbreaks– pastand present. A concluding section examines how our broader conceptual framework can contributeto potentially better understanding of the holistic impact of infectious disease outbreaks in theremainder of the twenty-first century.[1]. D. of Halicarnassus, The Roman Antiquities, IX, 67-69.; T. Livius, Ab Urbe condita libri, III,67, 6-7.[2]. McKinney, Amanda, “Pandemics, Ancient and Modern: Causes, Effects, Differences and Parallels,”The Academic Minute, 6 December 2021. https://www.academicminute.org[3]. T. Mommsen on Appian, in J. Carcopino, Silla, 2005.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
