HLTB21H3 Lecture 2: Lecture 2 Plagues of Antiquity - Bubonic Plagues.docx
Document Summary
Plagues of antiquity: the pharaoh"s plague, the plague of athens, the roman fever, the antonine plague, the cyprian plague. Predominant diseases during hunter-gatherer society: high transmission rates, macro parasitic; did not require vectors, sexually transmitted diseases. Move to agriculture and the emergence of epidemic diseases: emergence of epidemic disease. Emergence of cities - urban life: as populations increased and flourished resulted in crowding disease. Characterised by parasites with long lived transmission stages: those that can go through stages of transmission (ex. egg, larvae, etc. ) and they can impact humans because of the transmission stages. Nile valley of egypt: due to agriculture and irrigation. The water became stagnant and therefore allowed for development of disease and the spread. Snail fever or blood fluke disease / endemic hematuria / schistosomiasis. Transmission stages: microscopic, resulted in worms that would enter through the skin and find their way into the blood stream and clog the blood cells.
