Pandemics and History
While
history is often shaped by the people living in the world at any given time,
sometimes disease has also played a crucial role in shaping cultures and
societies affected by such outbreaks, as their effects have often been dramatic
when they become an epidemic or even a pandemic. For example, the Black Death, or bubonic
plague, had catastrophic effects on Europe and Asia once it spread throughout
the area, killing an estimated 75 to 200 million people during the 14th
Century. As a result of this colossal
death toll, the European social structures at the time were completely upended,
leading to massive changes both in European societies and its position in
global affairs. While subsequent
pandemics have proven to be nowhere near as deadly in terms of the human toll,
they have still proven to be a semi-regular occurrence in history. In that context, the current COVID-19
pandemic, which the World Health Organization declared as such on March 11, is
not particularly exceptional, since there have been other widespread disease outbreaks
in history. However, this current
outbreak may be somewhat different with regards to the steps taken to address
the pandemic, especially the near-total shutdown of ordinary life as a result
of policies aimed at containing the spread of the virus. This current pandemic way well be the worst
since the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak in terms of its scale, though obviously
these involve two different diseases.
Time will tell what long-term impacts the current COVID-19 pandemic will
have on the world as a whole, but even at this stage it seems as though it will
be a long time before life returns to normal.
To
understand the context in which the coronavirus pandemic is occurring, we must
first understand what a pandemic is.
While the terms epidemic and pandemic have specific meanings, they are
sometimes mistakenly used in an interchangeable way. This is perhaps understandable, as both words
contain -demic and are used to describe diseases. (Osborne) However, the key difference is in the scale
of the outbreak. An epidemic disease is
one affecting many people at the same time and spreading from person to person
in an area where the disease is not permanently prevalent. As further defined by the World Health
Organization, epidemic refers to an outbreak occurring at the community or
regional level. In comparison, a
pandemic disease is an epidemic which has spread over a large area. In other words, it’s prevalent throughout an
entire country, continent, or even the whole world. Pandemics are not limited by the length of
time over which a disease spreads. For
example, the ongoing spread of HIV/AIDS since the 1980s is considered a
pandemic even though it has been going on for so long. (LePan) Because of the definition of the term pandemic,
it could rightfully be used to describe the massive spread of diseases to the
Native Americans upon coming into contact with Europeans for the first time,
since these diseases spread very quickly across entire populations, obviously
in large part due to their lack of any previous exposure to such diseases. (Strayer, 557-558) Similar outbreaks occurred
in Australia as a result of Europeans coming into contact with the Aboriginal peoples
there, though the death rate wasn’t quite as severe there or in the Maori
population of New Zealand. Overall,
though, such pandemics occurred often when two groups of people interacted for
the first time. Nowadays, however, since
our world is much more interconnected, modern pandemics are far more likely to
come about due to poor sanitation or travel, which is what makes outbreaks
potentially more widespread than in the past, as well as making them rather
difficult to contain.
As
I’m living through the current coronavirus pandemic, it feels like a rather
bizarre situation, especially with all major public gatherings being called off
and/or banned in order to try and contain the spread of the virus. Although I completely understand the
reasoning for this, and support these efforts as necessary for the health of
the public as a whole, it’s definitely a weird experience to be living through
it, particularly in how I’m not allowed to physically go to classes yet still
take part in them online. In addition,
the complete social isolation that’s resulting from these measures is something
I’ve never experienced before in my life, even when there have been previous pandemics
that I was alive to know about.
Sources Cited:
Osborne, Joe. “‘Epidemic’ vs.
‘Pandemic’: What Do These Terms Mean?” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 4 Mar.
2020, www.dictionary.com/e/epidemic-vs-pandemic/.
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the
World: a Brief Global History with Sources; Volume 2: since the Fifteenth
Century. Bedford/St. Martins, 2019.
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