The Bubonic Plague: A Turning Point In History
How the Bubonic Plague Was A Turning Point in History…
The Bubonic Plague (also known as: the Black Death, the Black Plague, the Great Pestilence, etc.) is a disease that devastated the medieval world with a 9 out of 10 mortality rate (Vyas). It is so resilient that cases of infection are still being recorded in America today –although in a much milder manner. The plague then rid Europe of almost one-third of its population, leaving lasting effects wherever it had touched (Bussema and Witowski). This pestilence has since changed how we take on such diseases, and modified our tactics on handling epidemics and other contagious diseases.
The Black Plague is an infection caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis (originally known as Pasteurella …show more content…
The first practices of the quarantine were in Italy, where infected ships were mandated to anchor offshore for forty days before coming into port to dock. In fact, quarantine comes from the mid-seventeenth century Italian word ‘quarantina’ which meant ‘forty days’ (Tyson).
This form of quarantine was to be expected during such troubling times. In 1374, the Duke of Milan ordered that those infested with the plague were to be taken far from the city and positioned in a field or forest away from town until they either recuperated or died. In 1377, the town of Ragusa instituted a sort of quarantine station. This station was where newcomers from regions infected with the plague were forced to go and be secluded for a month of “purification” …show more content…
However, by the late 1800’s, the practice of quarantine was mostly rendered obsolete by the discovery that germs were the origin of infection –along with the invention of antibiotics and vaccinations (Tyson).
Quarantine today is used to separate those who have been exposed to a contagious and lethal disease, not for those who are already ill. However, a quarantine may only take place when: a person or people have been exposed to a highly contagious and equally fatal illness, there are resources at the ready for those who need to be quarantined, and when there is the ability to sustain said materials throughout the duration of the quarantine (State Legislators).
The Bubonic Plague, though not as common and severe today, was once a formidable and intimidating illness that swept through and infected most of three continents in the span of -approximately- twenty years. Due to this unfortunate travesty that annihilated one-third of the population of Europe, we have developed new strategies for undertaking such illnesses. An example of the strategies would be the quarantine. Although it is not used much in modern society today, the quarantine has been a major contribution to the medical world and has been quite affective as well. Whether it is nursery rhymes or quarantines, it goes without saying that the Black Plague was an extremely influential matter. It also may have been the most significant worldwide sickness
The Bubonic Plague (also known as: the Black Death, the Black Plague, the Great Pestilence, etc.) is a disease that devastated the medieval world with a 9 out of 10 mortality rate (Vyas). It is so resilient that cases of infection are still being recorded in America today –although in a much milder manner. The plague then rid Europe of almost one-third of its population, leaving lasting effects wherever it had touched (Bussema and Witowski). This pestilence has since changed how we take on such diseases, and modified our tactics on handling epidemics and other contagious diseases.
The Black Plague is an infection caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis (originally known as Pasteurella …show more content…
The first practices of the quarantine were in Italy, where infected ships were mandated to anchor offshore for forty days before coming into port to dock. In fact, quarantine comes from the mid-seventeenth century Italian word ‘quarantina’ which meant ‘forty days’ (Tyson).
This form of quarantine was to be expected during such troubling times. In 1374, the Duke of Milan ordered that those infested with the plague were to be taken far from the city and positioned in a field or forest away from town until they either recuperated or died. In 1377, the town of Ragusa instituted a sort of quarantine station. This station was where newcomers from regions infected with the plague were forced to go and be secluded for a month of “purification” …show more content…
However, by the late 1800’s, the practice of quarantine was mostly rendered obsolete by the discovery that germs were the origin of infection –along with the invention of antibiotics and vaccinations (Tyson).
Quarantine today is used to separate those who have been exposed to a contagious and lethal disease, not for those who are already ill. However, a quarantine may only take place when: a person or people have been exposed to a highly contagious and equally fatal illness, there are resources at the ready for those who need to be quarantined, and when there is the ability to sustain said materials throughout the duration of the quarantine (State Legislators).
The Bubonic Plague, though not as common and severe today, was once a formidable and intimidating illness that swept through and infected most of three continents in the span of -approximately- twenty years. Due to this unfortunate travesty that annihilated one-third of the population of Europe, we have developed new strategies for undertaking such illnesses. An example of the strategies would be the quarantine. Although it is not used much in modern society today, the quarantine has been a major contribution to the medical world and has been quite affective as well. Whether it is nursery rhymes or quarantines, it goes without saying that the Black Plague was an extremely influential matter. It also may have been the most significant worldwide sickness