Were the ten Plagues of egypt triggered by an ecological disaster?
While concern mounts over the risk of new diseases emerging from the seas and rivers, one leading expert believes that they may hold the key to an ancient catastrophe: the Ten Plagues that struck Egypt almost 3,300 years ago. According to the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, Egypt was punished by God with a series of terrible plagues after refusing to release Moses and his followers from slavery. Sceptics have long rejected this ancient story as a myth, but according to Dr John Marr, former chief epidemiologist for New York City, the story may well be based on fact. His research suggests that the biblical plagues may have been the result of an ecological disaster triggered by algal blooms, whose disease-spreading effect is now causing growing concern among scientists. The first of the Ten Plagues, in which the Nile reportedly turned blood-red and undrinkable, is strikingly reminiscent of the toxic red tides still caused by algae known as dinoflagellates in some parts of the world t
