[DP5Ups8o]

"With the Romans facing disastrous crop failures in Europe and turning to trade links further south, a plague gateway is established.

There are two suggested factors that would link the eruption with the plague. Firstly, the increased trade movements to far-afield regions. We know the Romans had trade links to Western Africa- it's where their ivory came from. Increased trade movement would increase the chances of contagions spreading, and with the Romans looking further afield for food supplies this is a possibility. "

Long distance trade in that era was generally for luxuries, grain was traded over relatively short distances, if at all. Long distance trade routes (like the silk road) definitely did spread disease, but trade on them would likely have been lessened by a catastrophe. The Roman world had been in trade contact with Egypt since practically the dawn of civilization, and Rome had imported grain from Egypt throughout the period of the Empire.

The only novum presented that fits a hunger-grain imports - epidemic theory is the alleged attempts to import grain into Egypt from Lake Victoria area. From what I know of A. The agriculcultural productivity of any area south of Nubia and B. the difficulties of transport, I must say the whole thing sounds very unlikely.

BTW, Im not sure what you mean by "hot zone theories of epidemiology" the book of the same, which discussed Ebola, used "hot zone" properly to mean a zone of heavy containment in a lab, not a geographic area.