La plaga de Justiniano (541-542)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56050/01205498.1513Palabras clave:
pandemia, plaga, peste, bubones, Justiniano, Imperio BizantinoResumen
A lo largo de la historia de la humanidad, las epidemias, plagas o pandemias, han diezmado a las civilizaciones, y han sido causantes de grandes cambios políticos y socioeconómicos. De acuerdo con la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), la Plaga de Justiniano (541-542) es la cuarta pandemia que más muertes ha causado (30-50 millones), después de la Peste Negra 1347-1351 (200 millones de muertos), la Viruela 1520 (56 millones de víctimas) y la Gripe Española 1918-1919 (40-50 millones de decesos).
Hace cerca de quince siglos, el imperio Romano de Oriente (Bizantino) se vio azolado por una plaga que probablemente empezó en Asia, pero que, de acuerdo con los historiadores y escritores de la época, de quienes se conservan sus registros, empezó en África en el año 541, pasó a Constantinopla en el año 542, y se extendió posteriormente a toda Europa. La peste se presentó en oleadas, que ocurrieron en número de 20 durante los dos siglos siguientes. Se ha identificado a la bacteria Yersinia Pestis como el agente causal, probablemente transmitido por las pulgas a partir de las ratas, y se ha relacionado incluso con cambios climáticos documentados para la época. A partir de documentos históricos y de investigaciones contemporáneas en diferentes ámbitos, se presenta una revisión de “La Plaga de Justiniano”, y del comportamiento actual de la peste.
Biografía del autor/a
Robin Germán Prieto Ortiz, Hospital Central de la Policía HOCEN
MD. Especialista en Cirugía General. Especialista en Gastroenterología y Endoscopia Digestiva. Hospital Central de la Policía HOCEN. Centro de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas CEHYD SAS. Bogotá, Colombia.
Referencias bibliográficas
1. Meier M. The “Justinianic Plague”: the economic consequences of the pandemic in the eastern Roman Empire and its cultural and religious effects. Early Medieval Europe [Internet]. 2016Aug [cited 2020Apr 2]. 2016;24:267
2. Dress A. Why, so far, have epidemics always eventually petered out? Quasispecies theory suggests a (testable!) answer. Eur Biophys J. 2018; 47:427-442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-018-1306-2.
3. Wagner DM, Klunk J, Harbeck M, Devault A, Waglechner N, Sahl JW, et al. Yersinia pestis and the plague of Justinian 541–543 AD: a genomic analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014; 14:319-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70323-2.
4. Drancourt M, Raoult D. Molecular history of plague. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2016; 22:911-915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2016.08.031.
5. Harbeck M, Seifert L, Hansch S, Wagner DM, Birdsell D, Parise KL, et al. Yersinia pestis DNA from skeletal remains from the 6th century ad reveals insights into Justinianic plague. PLoS Pathog. 2013; 9:e1003349.
6. Cui Y, Song Y. Genome and Evolution of Yersinia pestis. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016; 918:171-192.
7. Gage KL, Kosoy MY. Natural history of plague: perspectives from more than a century of research. Annu Rev Entomol. 2005; 50:505–28.
8. Little LK, ed. Plague and the end of antiquity: the pandemic of 541–750. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
9. Justiniano I. Fecha de consulta: 20 de abril de 2020. Disponible en: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justiniano_I
10. Sabbatani S, Manfredi R, Fiorino S. [The Justinian plague (part one)]. Infez Med. 2012; 20:125-39. PubMed PMID: 22767313.
11. 18. Mitchell PD. Human parasites in the Roman World: health consequences of conquering an empire. Parasitology. 2017; 144:48-58. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182015001651.
12. Mardones C. Medicina cristiana en los primeros siglos del imperio bizantino. Revista Electrónica Historias del Orbis Terrarum 2011(6). Fecha de consulta: 25 de abril de 2020. Disponible en: https://historiasdelorbisterrarum.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/06-camila-mardones-bizancio.pdf
13. Procopio de Cesarea, Sobre las guerras, libro II, capítulos 22-23 (traducción de Montserrat Camps Gaset disponible en: https://epidemiesedatmitjana.wordpress.com/2020/04/03/procopi-historia-de-les-guerres-ii-22-23/
14. Plaga de Justiniano. Fecha de consulta: 25 de abril de 2020. Disponible en: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaga_de_Justiniano
15. Biraben J-N. Les hommes et la peste en France et dans les pays européens et méditerranéens. In: It. La Peste dans l’Histoire. Mouton. 1976 Paris-Le Haye.
16. Eisenberg M, Mordechai L. The Justinianic Plague: an interdisciplinary review. Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies [Internet]. 2019; 43:156.
17. Cohn S. The Black Death: End of a paradigm. American Historical Review. 2002; 107:703-38.
18. Bobrov AG, Kirillina O, Vadyvaloo V, Koestler BJ, Hinz AK, Mack D, et al. The Yersinia pestis HmsCDE regulatory system is essential for blockage of the oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis), a classic plague vector. Environmental Microbiology. 2015; 17:947-959.
19. Buntgen U, Tegel W, Nicolussi K, McCormick M, Frank D, Trouet V, et al. 2500 years of European climate variability and human susceptibility. Science. 2011; 331:578- 82. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197175.
20. Gage KL, Burkot TR, Eisen RJ, Hayes EB. Climate and vectorborne diseases.Am J Prevent Med. 2008; 35:436-50.
21. Yersin A. La peste bubonique à Hong Kong. Ann Inst Pasteur. 1894; 8:662-7.
22. Kitasato S. The bacillus of bubonic plague. Lancet. 1894;144(3704):428-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(01)58670-5.
23. Altschuler EL, Kariuki YM. Was the Justinian Plague caused by the 1918 flu virus? Med Hypotheses. 2009; 72:234.
24. Zietz BP, Dunkelberg H. The history of the plague and the research on the causative agent Yersinia pestis. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2004; 207:165-78.
25. Tran TN, Signoli M, Fozzati L, Aboudharam G, Raoult D, Drancourt M. High throughput, multiplexed pathogen detection authenticates plague waves in medieval Venice, Italy. PLoS One. 2011; 6:e16735.
26. Nyirenda SS, Hang Ombe BM, Simulundu E, Mulenga E, Moonga L, Machang′u RS, et al. Molecular epidemiological investigations of plague in Eastern Province of Zambia. BMC Microbiol. 2018; 18:2. https://doi. org/10.1186/s12866-017-1146-8.
27. Cui Y, Yu C, Yan Y, Li D, Li Y, Jombart T, et al. Historical variations in mutation rate in an epidemic pathogen, Yersinia pestis. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2013; 110:577-82.
28. Pollitzer R. Plague studies-a summary of history and a survey of the present distribution of the disease. Bull World Health Organ. 1951; 4:475-533.
29. Schuenemann VJ, Bos K, DeWitte S, Schmedes S, Jamieson J, Mittnik A, et al. Targeted enrichment of ancient pathogens yielding the pPCP1 plasmid of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2011; 108:E746-52.
30. Bos KI, Schuenemann VJ, Golding GB, Burbano HA, Waglechner N, Coombes BK, et al. A draft genome of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death. Nature. 2011;478:506-10.
31. Bos KI, Herbig A, Sahl J, Waglechner N, Fourment M, Forrest SA, et al. Eigh- teenth century Yersinia pestis genomes reveal the long-term persistence of an historical plague focus. Elife 2016;5:e12994.
32. Rasmussen S, Allentoft ME, Nielsen K, Orlando L, Sikora M, Sjogren KG, et al. Early divergent strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 years ago. Cell. 2015; 163:571-82.
33. Nelson-Sathi S, Martin WF. The origin of a killer revealed by Bronze Age Yersinia genomes. Cell Host Microbe. 2015; 18:513-4.
34. Perry RD, Fetherston JD. Yersinia pestis– etiologic agent of plague. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1997; 10:35-66.
35. Raoult D, Mouffok N, Bitam I, Piarroux R, Drancourt M. Plague: history and contemporary analysis. J Infect. 2013; 66:18-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2012.09.010.
36. Wong D, Wild MA, Walburger MA, Higgins CL, Callahan M, Czarnecki LA, et al. Primary pneumonic plague contracted from a mountain lion carcass. Clin Infect Dis. 2009; 49:33-8.
37. Wang H, Cui Y, Wang Z, Wang X, Guo Z, Yan Y, et al. A dog- associated primary pneumonic plague in Qinghai Province, China. Clin Infect Dis. 2011; 52:185-90.
38. Weniger BG, Warren AJ, Forseth V, Shipps GW, Creelman T, Gorton J, et al. Human bubonic plague transmitted by a domestic cat scratch. JAMA. 1984; 251:927-8.
39. Crook LD, Tempest B. Plague. A clinical review of 27 cases. Arch Intern Med. 1992; 152:1253-6.
40. Campbell GL, Hughes JM. Plague in India: a new warning from an old nemesis. Ann Intern Med. 1995; 122:151-3.
41. Butler T. Plague into the 21st century. Clin Infect Dis. 2009; 49:736-42.
42. Inglesby TV, Henderson DA, O’Toole T, Dennis DT. Safety pre- cautions to limit exposure from plague-infected patients. JAMA. 2000; 284:1648-9.
43. Rolain JM, Lepidi H, Zanaret M, Triglia JM, Michel G, Thomas PA, et al. Lymph node biopsy specimens and diagnosis of cat-scratch disease. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006; 12:1338-44.
44. Loiez C, Herwegh S, Wallet F, Armand S, Guinet F, Courcol RJ. Detection of Yersinia pestis in sputum by realtime PCR. J Clin Microbiol. 2003; 41:4873-5.
45. Ayyadurai S, Flaudrops C, Raoult D, Drancourt M. Rapid identification and typing of Yersinia pestis and other Yersinia species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. BMC Microbiol. 2010; 10:285.
46. Bertherat E, Thullier P, Shako JC, England K, Kone ML, Arntzen L, et al. Lessons learned about pneumonic plague diagnosis from two outbreaks, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011; 17:778-84.
47. Inglesby TV, Henderson DA, O’Toole T, Dennis DT. Safety pre- cautions to limit exposure from plague-infected patients. JAMA. 2000; 284:1648-9.
48. Mwengee W, Butler T, Mgema S, Mhina G, Almasi Y, Bradley C, et al. Treatment of plague with gentamicin or doxycycline in a randomized clinical trial in Tanzania. Clin Infect Dis. 2006; 42:614-21.
49. Peterson JW, Moen ST, Healy D, Pawlik JE, Taormina J, Hardcastle J, et al. Protection afforded by fluoroquinolones in animal models of respiratory infections with bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, and Francisella tularensis. Open Microbiol J. 2010; 4:34-46.
50. Kuberski T, Robinson L, Schurgin A. A case of plague success- fully treated with ciprofloxacin and sympathetic blockade for treatment of gangrene. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;36:521-3.
51. Nguyen VA, Nguyen DH, Pham VD, Nguyen VL. Letter: co- trimoxazole in bubonic plague. Br Med J. 1973;4:108-9
2. Dress A. Why, so far, have epidemics always eventually petered out? Quasispecies theory suggests a (testable!) answer. Eur Biophys J. 2018; 47:427-442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-018-1306-2.
3. Wagner DM, Klunk J, Harbeck M, Devault A, Waglechner N, Sahl JW, et al. Yersinia pestis and the plague of Justinian 541–543 AD: a genomic analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014; 14:319-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70323-2.
4. Drancourt M, Raoult D. Molecular history of plague. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2016; 22:911-915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2016.08.031.
5. Harbeck M, Seifert L, Hansch S, Wagner DM, Birdsell D, Parise KL, et al. Yersinia pestis DNA from skeletal remains from the 6th century ad reveals insights into Justinianic plague. PLoS Pathog. 2013; 9:e1003349.
6. Cui Y, Song Y. Genome and Evolution of Yersinia pestis. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016; 918:171-192.
7. Gage KL, Kosoy MY. Natural history of plague: perspectives from more than a century of research. Annu Rev Entomol. 2005; 50:505–28.
8. Little LK, ed. Plague and the end of antiquity: the pandemic of 541–750. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
9. Justiniano I. Fecha de consulta: 20 de abril de 2020. Disponible en: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justiniano_I
10. Sabbatani S, Manfredi R, Fiorino S. [The Justinian plague (part one)]. Infez Med. 2012; 20:125-39. PubMed PMID: 22767313.
11. 18. Mitchell PD. Human parasites in the Roman World: health consequences of conquering an empire. Parasitology. 2017; 144:48-58. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182015001651.
12. Mardones C. Medicina cristiana en los primeros siglos del imperio bizantino. Revista Electrónica Historias del Orbis Terrarum 2011(6). Fecha de consulta: 25 de abril de 2020. Disponible en: https://historiasdelorbisterrarum.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/06-camila-mardones-bizancio.pdf
13. Procopio de Cesarea, Sobre las guerras, libro II, capítulos 22-23 (traducción de Montserrat Camps Gaset disponible en: https://epidemiesedatmitjana.wordpress.com/2020/04/03/procopi-historia-de-les-guerres-ii-22-23/
14. Plaga de Justiniano. Fecha de consulta: 25 de abril de 2020. Disponible en: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaga_de_Justiniano
15. Biraben J-N. Les hommes et la peste en France et dans les pays européens et méditerranéens. In: It. La Peste dans l’Histoire. Mouton. 1976 Paris-Le Haye.
16. Eisenberg M, Mordechai L. The Justinianic Plague: an interdisciplinary review. Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies [Internet]. 2019; 43:156.
17. Cohn S. The Black Death: End of a paradigm. American Historical Review. 2002; 107:703-38.
18. Bobrov AG, Kirillina O, Vadyvaloo V, Koestler BJ, Hinz AK, Mack D, et al. The Yersinia pestis HmsCDE regulatory system is essential for blockage of the oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis), a classic plague vector. Environmental Microbiology. 2015; 17:947-959.
19. Buntgen U, Tegel W, Nicolussi K, McCormick M, Frank D, Trouet V, et al. 2500 years of European climate variability and human susceptibility. Science. 2011; 331:578- 82. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197175.
20. Gage KL, Burkot TR, Eisen RJ, Hayes EB. Climate and vectorborne diseases.Am J Prevent Med. 2008; 35:436-50.
21. Yersin A. La peste bubonique à Hong Kong. Ann Inst Pasteur. 1894; 8:662-7.
22. Kitasato S. The bacillus of bubonic plague. Lancet. 1894;144(3704):428-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(01)58670-5.
23. Altschuler EL, Kariuki YM. Was the Justinian Plague caused by the 1918 flu virus? Med Hypotheses. 2009; 72:234.
24. Zietz BP, Dunkelberg H. The history of the plague and the research on the causative agent Yersinia pestis. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2004; 207:165-78.
25. Tran TN, Signoli M, Fozzati L, Aboudharam G, Raoult D, Drancourt M. High throughput, multiplexed pathogen detection authenticates plague waves in medieval Venice, Italy. PLoS One. 2011; 6:e16735.
26. Nyirenda SS, Hang Ombe BM, Simulundu E, Mulenga E, Moonga L, Machang′u RS, et al. Molecular epidemiological investigations of plague in Eastern Province of Zambia. BMC Microbiol. 2018; 18:2. https://doi. org/10.1186/s12866-017-1146-8.
27. Cui Y, Yu C, Yan Y, Li D, Li Y, Jombart T, et al. Historical variations in mutation rate in an epidemic pathogen, Yersinia pestis. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2013; 110:577-82.
28. Pollitzer R. Plague studies-a summary of history and a survey of the present distribution of the disease. Bull World Health Organ. 1951; 4:475-533.
29. Schuenemann VJ, Bos K, DeWitte S, Schmedes S, Jamieson J, Mittnik A, et al. Targeted enrichment of ancient pathogens yielding the pPCP1 plasmid of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2011; 108:E746-52.
30. Bos KI, Schuenemann VJ, Golding GB, Burbano HA, Waglechner N, Coombes BK, et al. A draft genome of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death. Nature. 2011;478:506-10.
31. Bos KI, Herbig A, Sahl J, Waglechner N, Fourment M, Forrest SA, et al. Eigh- teenth century Yersinia pestis genomes reveal the long-term persistence of an historical plague focus. Elife 2016;5:e12994.
32. Rasmussen S, Allentoft ME, Nielsen K, Orlando L, Sikora M, Sjogren KG, et al. Early divergent strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 years ago. Cell. 2015; 163:571-82.
33. Nelson-Sathi S, Martin WF. The origin of a killer revealed by Bronze Age Yersinia genomes. Cell Host Microbe. 2015; 18:513-4.
34. Perry RD, Fetherston JD. Yersinia pestis– etiologic agent of plague. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1997; 10:35-66.
35. Raoult D, Mouffok N, Bitam I, Piarroux R, Drancourt M. Plague: history and contemporary analysis. J Infect. 2013; 66:18-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2012.09.010.
36. Wong D, Wild MA, Walburger MA, Higgins CL, Callahan M, Czarnecki LA, et al. Primary pneumonic plague contracted from a mountain lion carcass. Clin Infect Dis. 2009; 49:33-8.
37. Wang H, Cui Y, Wang Z, Wang X, Guo Z, Yan Y, et al. A dog- associated primary pneumonic plague in Qinghai Province, China. Clin Infect Dis. 2011; 52:185-90.
38. Weniger BG, Warren AJ, Forseth V, Shipps GW, Creelman T, Gorton J, et al. Human bubonic plague transmitted by a domestic cat scratch. JAMA. 1984; 251:927-8.
39. Crook LD, Tempest B. Plague. A clinical review of 27 cases. Arch Intern Med. 1992; 152:1253-6.
40. Campbell GL, Hughes JM. Plague in India: a new warning from an old nemesis. Ann Intern Med. 1995; 122:151-3.
41. Butler T. Plague into the 21st century. Clin Infect Dis. 2009; 49:736-42.
42. Inglesby TV, Henderson DA, O’Toole T, Dennis DT. Safety pre- cautions to limit exposure from plague-infected patients. JAMA. 2000; 284:1648-9.
43. Rolain JM, Lepidi H, Zanaret M, Triglia JM, Michel G, Thomas PA, et al. Lymph node biopsy specimens and diagnosis of cat-scratch disease. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006; 12:1338-44.
44. Loiez C, Herwegh S, Wallet F, Armand S, Guinet F, Courcol RJ. Detection of Yersinia pestis in sputum by realtime PCR. J Clin Microbiol. 2003; 41:4873-5.
45. Ayyadurai S, Flaudrops C, Raoult D, Drancourt M. Rapid identification and typing of Yersinia pestis and other Yersinia species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. BMC Microbiol. 2010; 10:285.
46. Bertherat E, Thullier P, Shako JC, England K, Kone ML, Arntzen L, et al. Lessons learned about pneumonic plague diagnosis from two outbreaks, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011; 17:778-84.
47. Inglesby TV, Henderson DA, O’Toole T, Dennis DT. Safety pre- cautions to limit exposure from plague-infected patients. JAMA. 2000; 284:1648-9.
48. Mwengee W, Butler T, Mgema S, Mhina G, Almasi Y, Bradley C, et al. Treatment of plague with gentamicin or doxycycline in a randomized clinical trial in Tanzania. Clin Infect Dis. 2006; 42:614-21.
49. Peterson JW, Moen ST, Healy D, Pawlik JE, Taormina J, Hardcastle J, et al. Protection afforded by fluoroquinolones in animal models of respiratory infections with bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, and Francisella tularensis. Open Microbiol J. 2010; 4:34-46.
50. Kuberski T, Robinson L, Schurgin A. A case of plague success- fully treated with ciprofloxacin and sympathetic blockade for treatment of gangrene. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;36:521-3.
51. Nguyen VA, Nguyen DH, Pham VD, Nguyen VL. Letter: co- trimoxazole in bubonic plague. Br Med J. 1973;4:108-9
Cómo citar
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Prieto Ortiz, R.G. 2020. La plaga de Justiniano (541-542). Medicina. 42, 2 (jul. 2020), 182–195. DOI:https://doi.org/10.56050/01205498.1513.
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2020-07-17
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