Essay

Pre-Contact North and Central American Disease Ecology

Disease ecology in North and Central America before 1492, including isolation from Eurasian disease pools and Indigenous health context.

Indexed essay December 10, 2025 By Devin Teichrow scienceinfectious diseasedisease ecologyHistoryMedical History

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pre-contact Americas disease ecology

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By Devin Teichrow. Published December 10, 2025.

Overview

Disease ecology in North and Central America before 1492, including isolation from Eurasian disease pools and Indigenous health context.

Before 1492, the indigenous people of the Americas lived in a long-term isolation from the vast reservoir that was Eurasia’s disease pool.

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