Alexander the Great and West Nile virus encephalitis.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
From: Emerging Infectious Diseases
|
Date: 7/1/2004
|
Author: Benitez, Michael R.; Bernini, Flavia; Calisher, Charles S.; Cunha, Burke A.; Galli, Massimo; Mackowiak, Philip A.; Marr, John S.; Oldach, David; Zehender, Gianguglielmo
To the Editor: Marr and Calisher suggest the cause of Alexander the Great's death in Babylon in 323 B.C. was West Nile encephalitis (1). They were intrigued by the fact that as Alexander entered Babylon, ravens tell dead from the sky. The authors postulated the ravens might have had West Nile encephalitis, and because of the endemicity of mosquitoes in ancient Babylon, Alexander could have died of West Nile encephalitis. The authors are to be complimented on coming up with a novel ...
COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases
This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.
For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center.