Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Feb;103:217-219. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.11.160. Epub 2020 Nov 20.
The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reminded us of past epidemics. Pharaonic Egypt has often been associated with epidemics and disasters through the 10 plagues in the Bible. The aim of this study was to examine which epidemics and serious diseases can be effectively proven for Ancient Egypt through mummies and historical source texts. The biblical plagues cannot be proven because there is no agreement on the dating of the Exodus, or the Exodus is a conglomeration of memories of different events. Other diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis have been proven for Ancient Egypt, while polio and smallpox are still uncertain. There are indications of a bubonic disease from the time of the middle 18th Dynasty, but its exact nature cannot be determined from source texts or mummies, as they are too vague.
当前的 2019 年冠状病毒病(COVID-19)大流行让我们想起了过去的疫情。古埃及经常通过圣经中的十大灾难与流行病和灾难联系在一起。本研究旨在通过木乃伊和历史来源文本,探讨哪些流行病和严重疾病可以有效地证明古埃及存在。圣经中的瘟疫是无法证明的,因为关于出埃及记的日期没有达成一致意见,或者出埃及记是不同事件的记忆的混合体。古埃及已经证明存在疟疾和血吸虫病等其他疾病,而小儿麻痹症和天花仍然不确定。从中王朝第十八王朝时期就有关于腺鼠疫的迹象,但由于来源文本或木乃伊过于模糊,无法确定其确切性质。