Trevisanato Siro I
Med Hypotheses. 2004;63(5):905-10. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2004.05.015.
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.
本文呈现了一场类似青铜时代中期袭击古埃及的腺鼠疫或斑疹伤寒等恶性传染病的传播动态及特征。医学纸莎草文献和考古发现都有记载,《圣经》文本中也有相关回响,公元前1715年左右,一场瘟疫进入埃及主要港口阿瓦里斯。结果,在该国已面临严重社会政治问题之际,国家遭到严重削弱:中央政府摇摇欲坠、移民问题、外部影响以及军队和军阀势力的崛起。阿瓦里斯地区的一个族群希伯来人,在瘟疫肆虐中似乎具有免疫力。这种免疫力是确定该传染病病原体的关键:土拉弗朗西斯菌,一种通过蜱传播的革兰氏阴性细菌,可引发兔热病。该疾病表现为溃疡腺体型或伤寒型综合征,这解释了它与腺鼠疫和斑疹伤寒的相似之处。细胞免疫是抵御土拉弗朗西斯菌的主要防御机制,通过与该细菌的无毒菌株持续接触得以实现。与以牧羊和其他动物为生的希伯来人不同,阿瓦里斯的城市居民与动物接触有限,因此对有毒菌株毫无防御能力。在兔热病疫情之后,试图巩固埃及中央政府的举措,其中包括将希伯来人关押在劳改营。针对希伯来人的镇压措施在阿瓦里斯随后的考古层(F层)留下了痕迹。作为必然结果,奴役行为为希伯来人社区日后逃离埃及埋下了伏笔。