Leprosy And The Spread Of Eurasia

One consequence of the exchange was mass death. In the search for new routes for trade, people of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas came in contact with each other, causing the spread of disease. Columbus's colonization brought a host of new diseases to the populations of the Americas. Europeans exported their diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis and smallpox. In return, European traders and colonizers returned the Europe with syphilis and typhus from the Americas. The slave trade caused the spread of malaria and yellow fever from Africa to the Caribbean and North America, and yellow fever to Europe.

There is also a huge spread of diseases brought between the new world and old world. The old world brought over cholera, influenza, malaria, measles, and smallpox. The Europeans considered illness as a consequence of sin. The Indians whom were non-Christian were often considered sinners because they constantly getting sick. Those who were ill often were punished. The Native Americans had no natural resistance to the diseases and the population declined over centuries. The Inca Empire decreased by millions in 1600s. This caused for Europeans to look to Africa and began importing African slaves to the Americas. Once the African slaves began coming to the American they brought over malaria

People of the Old World had domesticated pigs, horses, sheep, and cattle(1), which had acted as pathogens to infect the Europeans with diseases. In addition, diseases were constantly circulated with centuries of war, exploration, and city building. During the process of natural selection, disease-intolerant

Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to

Diamond addresses many things about how interacting or being near different animals can cause different diseases that typically spreads to humans. Germs can be passed on from animals to humans when then can be passed on to other humans. All humans have different types of effects to these germs. Diamond says, “In an epidemic those people with genes for resistance to that particular microbe are more likely to survive than are people lacking such genes” (Diamond 201). Some people can be more immune to some diseases due to being more genetically resistant to the particular disease, but, there are others who are not immune to the diseases which can lead to death quickly. Those that are not immune to the disease can be wiped out causing them to die and not be able to create their own family. This can affect the way on how the individual differs in the way the germs effect them. Diamond says, “The rapid spread of microbes, and the rapid course of symptoms, mean that everybody in a local human population is quickly infected and soon thereafter is either dead or else recovered and immune” (Diamond 203). Generally, humans with weak immune systems usually die off without having a family and then, there are others that are immune to diseases. But if one person is exposed to the disease, many others are then exposed to it because of it spreading to others rapidly.

Europeans brought diseases to the Americas, such as smallpox and measles. The original descendants did not bring the diseases because they traveled through the cold and they had no domesticated animals. Many of these diseases were caused by domesticated animals. At

The Europeans were said to be thoroughly diseased by the time Columbus set sail on his first voyage (Cowley, 1991). Through the domestication of such animals as pigs, horses, sheep, and cattle, the Europeans exposed themselves to a vast array of pathogens which continued to be spread through wars, explorations, and city-building. Thus any European who crossed the Atlantic was immune to such diseases as measles and smallpox because of battling them as a child.

Diamond goes into incredible detail, especially in his chapter “The Lethal Gift of Livestock” of his proposed history of germs in relation to humans. He considers the difference in domesticated animals in the old world and new world, attributes their power to the downfall of the Incan and Aztec empires when he writes, “...the most advanced native societies of North America...their destruction was accomplished largely by germs alone.”(373-373, Diamond) It is fact that populations

Diamond's account has an interesting twist, though. Most epidemic diseases are zoonotic, that is, they are incubated in domestic animals. Crowding facilitates the spread of disease. Peoples who spent thousands of years living near each other and their animals developed resistance to many communicable diseases. Groups who weren't subject to these pressures did not develop the same resistance. When Europeans came to the Americas after centuries of urban life, their diseases decimated the indigenous populations. The guns and steel also facilitated the conquest, but Diamond thinks the germs were the key factor.

Hunters and gatherers did not really get sick since they were always moving from place to place. Than agriculture people started staying in one place and their population started growing. When everyone is all together and you stay in one place disease and sickness starts its way through. An advantage for hunters and gatherers was they always were moving so not a lot of sickness would stay with them and they did not really have kids to slow them down. A disadvantage for agriculture is they stay in one place so if a sickness broke out it would stay with them and their

During this time, Europe experienced a rapid growth in population due to advanced technologies and better foods from the New World. Although diseases still floated around, immunities began to build and sanitation improved a great deal. A

Everyone has that one feature they want to change in him or her. Some let that flaw get in the way of what they think of themselves and make them feel insecure of what other people think of them. Throughout the course of The Samurai’s Garden, Gail Tsukiyama uses Sachi’s experiences with having to deal with leprosy and how she wasn’t beautiful anymore to illustrate the idea that inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. Sachi went through the horrors of experiencing leprosy. One feature that Sachi had was outer beauty and most girls from Tarumi didn’t have as much as she did.

Hawaii was a treasure, a gem glittering with potential; it was a “white man’s paradise” (Okihiro 63). After its discovery by Captain Cook, Hawaii quickly became a destination for missionaries and traders, ready to exploit both the islands’ people and resources. As more Americans flocked to the islands, word spread about its exotic natives, beauty, and uniqueness. This soon attracted a new wave of travelers: tourists. Although Jack London fervently denied being a newcomer and insisted that he was a kamaaiana, “one who belongs,” he was one of the first to catch this “Hawaiian fever.” His collection of short stories, The House of Pride and Other Tales of Hawaii, enticed many other Americans to travel to Hawaii. In this collection, London focuses primarily on the leprosy affecting the natives and “being one” with them. On a superficial level, it appears that London is against Manifest Destiny and the white man’s encroachment of the Hawaiian Islands; however, a closer reading reveals the opposite. Jack London’s writings display the classic mentality that Hawaii belonged to America for the purpose of being a destination for adventure and the restoration of the

While others, were only effected by direct contact. It was thought to have been sustainable by even touching clothing or other such items of the infected. Conditions of the fourteenth century were also a contributing factor. Famine had been an arising issue due to the number of overpopulation. Because of this, their immune systems began to weaken. “Europeans were susceptible to disease because many people lived in crowded surroundings in an era when personal hygiene was not considered important” (Dowling). The cities were unsanitary and littered with germs, making it easier to sustain such diseases. Unhealthy habits were conducted and medical advances had not yet been made. Doctors themselves had not known what to advise. No prescriptions had worked. There was no cure to what was happening. Most were not even aware of what was impending upon them. Anything that could would be tried, in hopes of living. People were becoming desperate.

There are many interesting facts about leprosy and Armauer Hansen that some people may or may not know. One interesting fact is that Armauer Hansen suffered from syphilis. Another interesting fact that some people may not know is that leprosy was renamed the Hansen's disease to honor him for identifying and discovering leprosy. Another interesting fact is that he was married twice. The last interesting fact about leprosy is that after the cause of leprosy was found out by Hansen, and before people found out the cure, scientists treated patients by injecting them with oil from the Chaulmoogra nut, which was very painful and not many people benefited from it.