Can Epidemics Be Avoided?

In two years between 1918 and 1919, A pandemic of influenza swept mercilessly over the planet, killing millions which stood in its path. Miraculously, the exact origin of the pandemic is unclear. What is exceedingly clear, however, is that often the actions of man aided in the spread of the virus, whether due to inadvertent endangerment, close quarters, religious principles, or failure to recognize the true threat that influenza posed.

By the second year of pandemic the plague had killed an estimated 25 million (Plague) of the peasantry, nobility, and clergy. Nobody was immune to the disease. The poor sanitation became a massive issue with the lack of

The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in history. The disease ravaged Europe, Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa between 1346 and 1353 (Horrox 1994). It is difficult to understand the reality of such a devastating event, especially given the fact that science during the middle ages was severely underdeveloped. No one knew about bacteria, viruses, or other microbial agents of disease (Benedictow 2004). They had no way of protecting themselves during that time and no one was safe from the effects of the plague. Those who wrote chronicles claimed that only a tenth of the population had survived, while others claimed that half to a third of the population was left alive (Horrox 1994). In 1351, agents for Pope Clement VI predicted the number of deaths in Europe to be 23,840,000 (Gottfried 1983). Obviously, not all regions experienced the same mortality rates, but modern estimates of the death rate in England give the first outbreak a mortality rate of about forty-eight percent (Horrox 1994). That is, England lost half of its population in about a year and a half. Clearly the chroniclers ' who claimed that ninety percent of the population had died were overstating the magnitude of the plague, but this overemphasis demonstrates how terrifying the pandemic was to those who experienced it (Horrox 1994). The Black Death had huge consequences on the lives of those who were impacted directly, as well as major religious and cultural effects that came afterward.

In 1793 Philadelphia suffered from a deadly disease that spread all through the town; it was called yellow fever. The Philadelphia Doctors and the French doctors were attempting to treat yellow fever. The doctors had many ways to try to fix this, but they did not have the technology we do today. Yellow fever occurred 1793. The outbreak happened in Philadelphia. This sad event that killed many people was all because of infected mosquitoes. They came over with the ill refuges. About 2,000 to 5,000 people died. All in all, this was one of the one of the worst things to occur in history

The plague was a catastrophic time in history, and happened more than once. It took millions and millions of people’s lives. It destroyed cities and countries, and many people suffered from it.

Diseases have always been a threat to humans, all throughout history. One of the most destructive disease outbreaks in history was the plague outbreak which peaked in 1346 to 1353, in Europe, commonly known as the Black Death. This plague outbreak was extremely deadly and killed 30-60% of the European population at the time of the outbreak. The outbreak is commonly believed to have been caused by the bubonic plague, but modern evidence suggests that the Black Death was caused by pneumonic plague, a much more contagious and deadly infection.

The pandemic struck the world and infected 1/3 of earth’s human population, killing over 50 million humans. The world’s top doctors have never witnessed anything of this killing magnitude besides the bubonic plague of 1348 but the transmissibility is of nothing they’ve ever seen in their lifetime or of recorded history. People abruptly became aware of the importance of health, and need of medicine and cleanliness.

Because of the uncertainties and evolving nature of infectious diseases, outbreaks can cause substantial fear in communities and in the general public. Such is the case with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. It was the first serious infectious disease of the twenty first century and questions about its origin and treatment greatly outnumbered the answers.

The term epidemic is typically used in relation to the spread of a disease however; in the mid 1980’s this term was attached to crack cocaine. The crack cocaine epidemic described the impact of a newly created drug on most U.S. cities in the northeast and Mid Atlantic. Washington, D.C. provided the perfect setting for crack cocaine to flourish. Plenty of low-income inner city housing projects complete with open air drug markets labeled D.C. as a leading U.S. city with a major crack cocaine problem. As crack cocaine became a national talking point the federal government stepped in to curb its use. Congress along

There hasn’t been any epidemics that have affected America since the settling of the United States except for the common cold and flu. Epidemic means “a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time” according to google.com. The smallpox epidemic of 1775-1782 included many details common to epidemics and caused damage and destruction to property and lives that affected the region, but the area has recovered in the aftermath.

Although populations in ancient societies suffered attacks, invasions, starvation, and persecution, there was a more efficient killer that exterminated countless people. The most dreaded killers in the ancient world were disease, infections and epidemics. In many major wars the main peril was not gunfire, nor assault, but the easily communicable diseases that rapidly wiped out whole divisions of closely quartered soldiers. Until the time of Hippocrates, in the struggle between life and death, it was, more often than not, death that prevailed when a malady was involved. In the modern world, although illness is still a concern, advances in thought and technique have led to the highest birth rates in recorded history. No longer is a fever a

With lacking medical knowledge, people never really grasped the concept or the cause of this epidemic; therefore, they did not know what to do to help cure or stop the spread of it. “In spite of only sketchy medical knowledge, the epidemiology of the plague was fully understood by the 18th century. It took many years of research, after the fact, to finally comprehend all the ins

In the early half of the fourteenth century Europe experienced one of the most deadly and disastrous epidemics this world has ever seen. The Black Death or bubonic plague which is caused by the Yersinia pestis is said to half wiped out close to half the population at the time of the outbreak. What is scary is that the same disease has had outbreaks of the plague in both North and South America in recent times but we have not had the same devastating results that we saw in Europe during the fourteenth century. Infectious disease is still the leading cause of death in the world today and as the world becomes more of a "global village" the chances of naturally transmitting diseases is ever growing. In this paper we are going to discuss the factors

Can you imagine waking up one day learning that a vast amount of people in your city is dying or is dead from an idiopathic disease? What would you do and how would you feel? I know that I would be terrified; not knowing if I would be the next person to become infected, would destroy me. This was the case for millions during the 14th century. In the middle Ages, the plague disease eradicated one-third to one-half of Europe’s population. No one knew the cause of this deadly disease. Many started to believe that the plague was a curse from God. Some people started hurting themselves and others lived everyday as if it was their last.

In the introduction of his book The First Horseman: Disease in Human History, John Aberth discusses the types and causes of diseases. He also explains the impact of disease. One thing I took note of was the differentiation between an epidemic and a pandemic. An epidemic is an outbreak of a disease that would erupt and prevail among large numbers of the community. A pandemic spreads across large geographical areas from one society to another. According to Eamon all diseases vary in their morbidity. Diseases such as leprosy and syphilis are far less infectious and rarely fatal but can be chronic .