Risk of infectious disease transmission from a common communion cup

A Review of Infectious Diseases Associated with Religious and Nonreligious Rituals

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.

Holy Communion and Infection Transmission: A Literature Review

The Holy Communion originated in the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago. According to the Bible, the night before his crucifixion, Jesus Christ shared with his 12 apostles a meal of bread and wine. During the meal, Christ instructed his disciplines to eat and drink in his memory, saying that bread is his body and wine is his blood. Today, faithful people worldwide share the consecrated bread and wine retracted from a chalice with a Holy Communion spoon. The novel coronavirus that emerged in December 2019 recorded a rapid exponential spread across space and time. The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease has affected people from all cultures and religions. In Greece, the pandemic concurred with the Easter celebration. Measures of social distancing have been implemented. Among others, churches have closed their doors to the public in order to avoid religious mass gatherings. The issue of the novel coronavirus transmission by partaking Holy Communion has received much criticism. In this review, we aimed to retrieve articles that summarize the current knowledge on the selected topic. In order to offer a balanced analysis of the subject, we have also assessed the theological framework of the Holy mystery.

Infections associated with religious rituals

This review evaluates the medical literature for religious rituals or ceremonies that have been reported to cause infection. These include an ultra-orthodox Jewish circumcision practice known as metzitzah b'peh, the Christian common communion chalice, Islamic ritual ablution, and the Hindu 'side-roll'. Infections associated with participation in the Islamic Hajj have been extensively reviewed and will not be discussed.