5 Diseases that Changed the Course of History
Influenza
History is often cited to have been changed by the competition between two entities. The competition between two warring armies may have changed the landscape of many nations throughout history. Competing ideas can cause an intellectual debate, leading to more research and an eventual, proven consensus. But the truth is, history is changed by many different factors, one of which is the presence of disease.
Diseases are abnormalities found in organisms that inhibit bodily or mental functions, and there have been many instances in history where diseases have severely changed the course of history. Diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens and can be deadly to a human population. Irwin Sherman, a professor of biology and author, wrote a book named Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World. In the book, Sherman describes the impact of disease on the course of human history. He talks about how diseases have devastated populations, forever changing aspects of politics, health care, and economies.
Most of these diseases are infectious diseases, or a disease that is contagious from human-to-human. Whether through direct contact, sexual contact, airborne inhalation, or contaminated objects, an infectious disease is easily transferred between humans, causing epidemics that ravaged populations throughout the world. Many of these disease are now cured, but that did not stop many diseases from killing millions at a time.
The rest of this article will focus on 5 infectious diseases that changed the course of history, as mentioned by Sherman:
1. Syphilis
A sexually transmitted disease, syphilis is characterized by pain during urination and discharge from sexual organs. In the past, syphilis was a disease treated by heavy metals such as mercury, which was later found to have extremely devastating effects on those who were infected. The disease inspired the discovery of chemotherapeutic agents. Paul Ehrlich, a scientist, found a cure for syphilis in the form of the drug salvorsan. Many other drugs can be traced back to Ehrlich’s breakthrough of working with dye materials, eventually finding drugs that could kill parasites.
2. Smallpox
Now eliminated due to vaccination, smallpox was once a highly contagious disease that caused spots and eventual death in humans. Vaccination was born through the research conducted to cure smallpox. The idea of immunity and vaccines was born through the studies of smallpox and its devastating effects. The hope is that the future may bring many more vaccines to nullify other diseases.
3. Influenza
The flu has had a huge impact on human population, as it has historically killed millions of human beings. Even though there is a vaccination against it, the disease continues to evolve into different strains that still kills people, despite the many steps that medicine has taken. It is suggested that World War 1 was influenced heavily by the disease, sickening and killing many soldiers.
4. Bubonic Plague
The bubonic plague has historically killed a large percentage of the population in Europe, but eventually led to the idea of quarantine. Sherman states that the plague spurred similar reactions in history as HIV/AIDS has in modern times.
5. Malaria
Malaria is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases in history, causing up to 3 million deaths a year. It is estimated that one in every 100 cases leads to death. Since it was spread through mosquito bites, Malaria forced the word to realize that animals and insect carriers must be controlled to prevent the transmission of a disease. It is speculated, also, that Europeans were able to colonize Africa due to their possession of an antimalarial drug named quinine.