Reimian Empire

Areid
+1-2 diseases at the start.
-35% to all stats.
No money at the start.

I just have to ask. Is disease necessarily something clearly negative?
For example, in the Ples expansion, there were companions who carried a virus, but they didn't suffer from the disease themselves, but could (intentionally) infect those around them and use it. Can Areids do that?