Essay
Why Europeans Didn’t Die of New World Diseases
Why Old World pathogens devastated Indigenous Americans while New World diseases rarely reversed the catastrophe in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
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By Devin Teichrow. Published January 31, 2026.
Overview
Why Old World pathogens devastated Indigenous Americans while New World diseases rarely reversed the catastrophe in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
I was recently asked why Europeans didn’t end up suffering as much at the hands of New World diseases compared to how the Native Americans were impacted by the likes of smallpox, measles, malaria, and yellow fever.
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https://theedgeofepidemiology.substack.com/p/why-europeans-didnt-get-hit-by-disease
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