| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics and Plagues |
| Editors | Byrne J |
| Place of Publication | Westport, Connecticut |
| Publisher | Greenwood Publishing Group |
| Pages | 299-302pp |
| Volume | 1 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780313341014 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Abstract
The shift from huntergatherer living to early Neolithic farming and domestication of animals, which began around 10,000 years ago, created the first big bang opportunity for novel infectious disease agents to enter the human species. The settled and denser agrarian way of life allowed sustained and closer contacts with animals and their microbes, the roliferation of pest species (rodents, flies, etc.) as vectors of infectious agents, and, in due course for some infectious agents as towns and early cities formed, the opportunity for continuous circulation and survival in populations of sufficient size to sustain a supply of susceptible (nonimmune) persons.