Or ...
You can use it to your advantage.
In my Brutii campaign I came across a tactic accidentally - Bio-warfare.
For most of the campaign I've been running plague-ridden spies into my enemies, neighbor's and allies cities.
It has been extremely effective.
Unfortunately it's a bit tedious micro-managing to make sure I don't accidentally infect myself or leave a sick spy idle and at this point, 220BC, my faction is unstoppable. The Egyptians posed somewhat of a threat but I've reduced their population by 30% in just a few years time. So there is no faction anywhere near even posing a nuisance at this stage, much less a threat.
Might get a bit boring.