Historical records hint at an Ebola outbreak 2,400 years ago

Jun 18, 2015 09:08 GMT  ·  By

Some 2,400 years back, in 430 BC, a devastating epidemic hit the city of Athens in ancient Greece. The outbreak, known to historians as the Plague of Athens, lasted about five years and killed thousands of people. 

The infectious disease responsible for this ancient epidemic is believed to have reached Athens all the way from sub-Saharan Africa and to have been brought to the city by locals migrating to Greece to make a living as farmers or servants.

Thus, historical records indicate the Plague of Athens entered the city through the port of Piraeus. The infectious disease affected other regions in the Mediterranean too, but by the looks of it, Athens was hit the hardest.

In his writings, Athenian historian Thucydides, who also caught the disease but survived it, describes symptoms like fever, headaches, pains radiating throughout the body, vomiting, diarrhea, red eyes and even severe bleeding from the mouth.

Apparently, some people even developed rashes, ulcers and pustules. In extreme cases, gangrene led to loss of fingers and toes. Usually, folks who contracted the disease struggled for about a week and a half before dying.

The Plague of Athens might have been an Ebola epidemic

In a recent report, researcher Powel Kazanjian at the University of Michigan argues that the Plague of Athens might have been an Ebola epidemic not very different to the one that hit West Africa in 2014 and that the World Health Organization considers the largest to date.

Admittedly, the Ebola virus was first discovered by scientists in 1976, when a relatively small outbreak happened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Still, Ebola DNA discovered in animals indicates that the virus is much older.

According to specialist Powel Kazanjian, it might be that the virus didn't wait until modern times to make the switch from infecting animals to infecting people, and that the devastating outbreak that hit Athens back in 430 BC was, in fact, an Ebola virus disease epidemic.

“Diseases like Ebola, which we sometimes lump into the category of a new or emerging disease, may actually be much older than we realize,” the scientist wrote in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, as cited by Live Science.

Besides, the symptoms described by Thucydides in his works match those of an Ebola epidemic, the University of Michigan specialist went on to argue. Still, further research is needed to confirm Powel Kazanjian's theory that the Plague of Athens was an Ebola outbreak.

The Ebola virus
The Ebola virus

Photo Gallery (2 Images)

The Plague of Athens might have been an Ebola epidemic
The Ebola virus
Open gallery