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Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Integrity of Indigenous Cultures and Regions

Further to the volume on Health and Environment proposed at the recent Rome Colloquium, Dr Richard Lee has posted this abstract for discussion. The full text and accompanying figures are available for download (pdf) in the margin.

Abstract

Indigenous people living in geographically remote places have been a favorite “target” for anthropologists, epidemiologists, and explorers. The physical and spiritual environment and the biologic characteristics of isolated populations are of interest to scholars pursuing the origin and the limits of human activities. Infectious disease has been a particularly popular subject of field research and speculation. The examples of epidemic catastrophes among island people and following the European entrance into the Americas have established a pessimistic and hostile attitude to the intrusion of urban, cosmopolitan visitors among remote villagers. However, remote does not automatically mean isolation! This is especially true for Ladakh. The history of travel and trade through Ladakh destroys the notion that the region is the equivalent of a remote island. The migratory pattern of birds adds to the transport of animal and human pathogens through the region. Ladakh has protected and maintained its traditional culture for more than a millennium despite the waxing and waning of plagues and invaders. Its stability is perhaps because it is remote enough to be left alone most of the time but accessible enough for infectious pathogens to circulate and maintain immunocompetence throughout the population.


Please forward any correspondence To:
Richard V. Lee, M.D.
7664 East Quaker Road
Orchard Park, NY 14127
716-667-3304 phone/fax
dmdrvl@buffalo.edu