Ovid and the Classical Plague Narrative Tradition by Jonathan M. Entwisle

This has a section (pages 24-37) on Lucretius' plague narrative in Book 6. The author compares it to Thucydides' narrative and discusses how the differences in Lucretius' version emphasize Epicurean philosophy. This is in opposition to Bailey, who determined that the differences in DRN were due to mistranslation on Lucretius' part.

And for the more literary minded among us, there's much more: Homer, Sophocles, Thucycides, Vergil, and the titular Ovid.