A Review of Infectious Diseases Associated with Religious and Nonreligious Rituals.
Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis 2021;
2021:1823957. [PMID:
34912451 PMCID:
PMC8668350 DOI:
10.1155/2021/1823957]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Rituals are an integral part of human life but a wide range of rituals (both religious and non-religious), from self-flagellation to blood brotherhood to ritual sprinkling of holy water, have been associated with transmission of infections. These infections include angiostrongyliasis, anthrax, brucellosis, cholera, COVID-19, cutaneous larva migrans, Ebola, hepatitis viruses, herpes simplex virus, HIV, human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), kuru, Mycobacterium bovis, Naegleria fowleri meningoencephalitis, orf, rift valley fever, and sporotrichosis. Education and community engagement are important cornerstones in mitigating infectious risks associated with rituals.
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