Did an epidemic of tularemia in Ancient Egypt affect the course of world history?
The dynamics of the spreading, and the identity of a virulent epidemic, similar to bubonic plague or typhus, which hit Ancient Egypt in the middle of the Bronze Age, are hereby presented. Documented in medical papyri as well as archaeological findings, and re-echoed in biblical texts, a plague entered Egypt's main harbor, Avaris, around 1715 BC. As a result, the country was severely weakened at a time when it was already facing serious sociopolitical issues: crumbling central government, immigration, foreign influence, and the rise in power of the army and of warlords. The Hebrews, one of the ethnic groups within the Avaris area, appeared immune amidst the devastation of the plague. This immunity was key to identify the etiological agent of the epidemic: Francisella tularensis, the Gram-negative bacterium passed by ticks, and that causes tularemia. The disease manifests itself as either an ulceroglandular or a typhoid syndrome, accounting for its similarity with bubonic plague and typhus. Cellular immunity provides the main defense against F. tularensis, and is achieved through continuous contact with avirulent strains of the bacterium. Urban dwellers of Avaris, who had a limited contact to animals, would have been defenseless against the virulent strains, unlike the Hebrews, who lived off sheep and other animals. Attempting to consolidate Egypt's central government in the aftermath of the tularemia epidemic, led among others to the internment of the Hebrews in labor camps. The repressive measures against the Hebrews left traces in the subsequent archaeological layer (stratum F) at Avaris. As a corollary, the enslavement would set the stage for the exodus of the Hebrew community from Egypt at a later time.
Trevisanato
Siro I
SI
strevisa@rogers.com
D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient / Q000453:epidemiology; D000076145:Greece, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D011056:Political Systems / Q000266:history*; D011057:Politics; D014406:Tularemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history*