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Review
. 2021 Dec 6:2021:1823957.
doi: 10.1155/2021/1823957. eCollection 2021.

A Review of Infectious Diseases Associated with Religious and Nonreligious Rituals

Kiran Gajurel  1 , Stan Deresinski  2
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Infectious Diseases Associated with Religious and Nonreligious Rituals

Kiran Gajurel et al. Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis. .

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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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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