Pluralistic Epidemiology: What Indigenous Paradigms of Herd Immunity Offer to Non-Medical Pandemic Interventions

Abstract Modern epidemiological models define herd immunity almost exclusively as a biological threshold achieved via natural infection or synthetic vaccination. This conventional conceptualization often overlooks non-medical, socio-ecological systems of collective protection developed by indigenous communities. Indeed, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limitations of relying solely on centralized, biomedical frameworks to manage public health crises. This study investigates an undocumented traditional practice among pastoralist communities in India who employ a sophisticated form of variolation — combining Napera leaf extracts with infected viral serum — to manage pox outbreaks within their herds. Drawing on medical anthropology, ethnoveterinary studies, and the history of medicine, the paper examines how this indigenous protocol functions as a localized, non-medical intervention that parallels historical human variolation practices used prior to modern vaccinology. Rather than treating this empirical practice as a mere precursor to modern immunology, the study analyses it through the lens of “pluralistic epidemiology” . It also demonstrates how community-based traditional knowledge, health management, and controlled exposure operate together as socio-cultural mechanisms of herd defence. The biochemical mitigation of viral mutation within this traditional protocol reflects a nuanced, observational science embedded within community governance. By humanising the metrics of disease transmission, this paper argues that modern public health governance must expand beyond biomedical determinism. Integrating indigenous epistemologies into mainstream epidemiological planning provides valuable frameworks for community-led prevention and holistic pandemic preparedness. Ultimately, recognizing these historical and socio-ecological practices not only enriches global health policy, but also offers modern medicine novel approaches to vaccine development and a more pluralistic understanding of herd immunity in an era of emerging viral threats.