Evening star., 1951-05-07
Biological Warfare
Clues in Past Plaques
Ruvoeing Diseases Often
Forced HostiIities to Cease
By Thomas R. Henry


With present possibilities of biological
warfare. medical scientists are exploring
history for clues as to the nature of the
great epidemics of the past which have
ended wars and broken empires.
The nature Of the pandemics usually
is difficult 10 interpret because of the
vague descriptions of historians, accord
ing to DR.. Victor H. Haas, director of
the National Meteorological Institute of
the Public Health Service.
Perhaps the most puzzling of all the
cases found by DR.. Haas is the first
the epidemic which scattered the Philis-
tines after they had carried off the
sacred Ark. In the Old Testament it
is related that they were stricken with
emerodS," and died like flies
The disease may have been bubonic
plague, DR.. Haas believes. Much the
same is true of the malady which struck
Athens during the Peloponnesian war.
1t brought one of the major wars of
antiquity to an abrupt halt. The enemy
withdrew and the AthenianS were too
weakened to pursue them. There is no
real clue as to the nature of the epidemic.
An apparently similar malady was the
plague of Antoninus which swept over
the entire Roman world starting in
165 AID. The armies spread the disease,
and it lasted IA years. Roman troops
campaigning against the Germanic
tribes found many of the enemy dead
on the field. but they themselves were
so stricken they could take no advantage
of the circumstance.
Plague of Cyprian.
The great plague of Cyprian fell on
the whole known world in $50 AID.
Thousands died everywhere. Fields were
left uncultivated. 1t became a major
factor in the establishment of Chris
tianity
Worst of all pandemics of ancient
times was the plague of JuStinian in
$40 AID. 1t also spread over the entire
earth and afflicted without mercy"
During the so years it lasted a weakened
Italy was conquered by the Lombards.
This malady may have been either
bubonic plague or smallpox.
The most devastating epidemic in
history swept out of the Crimea 500
years ago and depopulated large parts
of Europe. 1t is believed to have been
brought out of Central Asia by Tatar
in China. Half the people of England
died. From a fourth to a half of the
population of Europe perished in three
years.
This was the Black Death. There now
is every reason to believe that it was
the bubonic plague. It smouldered in
Europe for three centuries, finally
breaking out in the great plague of
London in 1865. Then it Smouldered
again for more than 200 years, finally
breaking out violently in Hungary, Po-
land and the Ukraine.
Late in the 10Th century the malady
again appeared in China and India and
spread in all directions. In 1900 it first
was recognized in North America and
has been a source of worry ever since.
There is no question but that the Black
Death still is smouldering.
Typhus Linked to War.
Perhaps the worst of all epidemicS
directly associated with war is typhus.
It's origin is obscure, and it may have
been identical with some of the great
plaques of antiquity. It can be fairly
clearly recognized in the CruSades and
reached a climax during the Thirty
Years War. For centuries it demob-
ilized armies. Largely responsible for
the failure of Napoleon's Moscow cam
paign, it was major factor also in the
Crimean war. The greatest of all ty-
phus epidemics followed the First World
War in the Near East.
In the last war there were no pam
denies or threats of any. This certain
ly was due in part to better sanitary
knowledge and the availability of sulfa
drugs, biotics and preventive vaccines.
but whether these were entirely respon-
sible for the good showing remains de-
batable.