IMM250H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi, World Health Organization
Document Summary
Lecture #1: a very short intro to the history of immunology. One particular event in history sheds light on the extreme usefulness of the study of immunity. Between 1350-1400 the bubonic plague or the black death wiped out 30%-60% of all europeans (which was a lot of people considering the west was not yet won). The population of europe would recover slowly until the (cid:883)(cid:887)(cid:887)(cid:882)"s- paving the way to the renaissance. This plague was thought to spread through trade routes and migrated to different cities. Rats carried the fleas which harboured rats carried the fleas which harboured yersinia pestisa, a bacteria that was the causal agent. Unfortunately, cats were considered (cid:498)evil(cid:499) during this period and were banished from cities. This allowed for the rat population to grow without bound! The mongol empire collapsed in central asia as a result of the black plague.
