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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Breakdown of Social Order

"One citizen avoided another, hardly any neighbour troubled about others, relatives never or hardly ever visited each other. Moreover, such terror was struck into the hearts of men and women by this calamity, that brother abandoned brother, and the uncle his nephew, and the sister her brother, and very often the wife her husband. What is even worse and nearly incredible is that fathers and mothers refused to see and tend their children, as if they had not been theirs.

Thus, a multitude of sick men and women were left without any care, except from the charity of friends (but these were few), or the greed, of servants, though not many of these could be had even for high wages, Moreover, most of them were coarse-minded men and women, who did little more than bring the sick what they asked for or watch over them when they were dying. And very often these servants lost their lives and their earnings. Since the sick were thus abandoned by neighbours, relatives and friends, while servants were scarce, a habit sprang up which had never been heard of before. Beautiful and noble women, when they fell sick, did not scruple to take a young or old man-servant, whoever he might be, and with no sort of shame, expose every part of their bodies to these men as if they had been women, for they were compelled by the necessity of their sickness to do so. This, perhaps, was a cause of looser morals in those women who survived."

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Varying Reactions to Disaster

"...Such fear and fanciful notions took possession of the living that almost all of them adopted the same cruel policy, which was entirely to avoid the sick and everything belonging to them. By so doing, each one thought he would secure his own safety.

Some thought that moderate living and the avoidance of all superfluity would preserve them from the epidemic. They formed small communities, living entirely separate from everybody else. They shut themselves up in houses where there were no sick, eating the finest food and drinking the best wine very temperately, avoiding all excess, allowing no news or discussion of death and sickness, and passing the time in music and suchlike pleasures. Others thought just the opposite. They thought the sure cure for the plague was to drink and be merry, to go about singing and amusing themselves, satisfying every appetite they could, laughing and jesting at what happened. They put their words into practice, spent day and night going from tavern to tavern, drinking immoderately, or went into other people's houses, doing only those things which pleased them. This they could easily do because everyone felt doomed and had abandoned his

A plague victim reveals
the telltale buboe on
his leg. From a
14th century illumination

property, so that most houses became common property and any stranger who went in made use of them as if he had owned them. And with all this bestial behaviour, they avoided the sick as much as possible.

In this suffering and misery of our city, the authority of human and divine laws almost disappeared, for, like other men, the ministers and the executors of the laws were all dead or sick or shut up with their families, so that no duties were carried out. Every man was therefore able to do as he pleased.

Many others adopted a course of life midway between the two just described. They did not restrict their victuals so much as the former, nor allow themselves to be drunken and dissolute like the latter, but satisfied their appetites moderately. They did not shut themselves up, but went about, carrying flowers or scented herbs or perfumes in their hands, in the belief that it was an excellent thing to comfort the brain with such odours; for the whole air was infected with the smell of dead bodies, of sick persons and medicines.

Others again held a still more cruel opinion, which they thought would keep them safe. They said that the only medicine against the plague-stricken was to go right away from them. Men and women, convinced of this and caring about nothing but themselves, abandoned their own city, their own houses, their dwellings, their relatives, their property, and went abroad or at least to the country round Florence, as if God's wrath in punishing men's wickedness with this plague would not follow them but strike only those who remained within the walls of the city, or as if they thought nobody in the city would remain alive and that its last hour had come."


http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Signs of Impending Death

"The symptoms were not the same as in the East, where a gush of blood from the nose was the plain sign of inevitable death; but it began both in men and women with certain swellings in the groin or under the armpit. They grew to the size of a small apple or an egg, more or less, and were vulgarly called tumours. In a short space of time these tumours spread from the two parts named all over the body. Soon after this the symptoms changed and black or purple spots appeared on the arms or thighs or any other part of the body, sometimes a few large ones, sometimes many little ones. These spots were a certain sign of death, just as the original tumour had been and still remained.

No doctor's advice, no medicine could overcome or alleviate this disease, An enormous number of ignorant men and women set up as doctors in addition to those who were trained. Either the disease was such that no treatment was possible or the doctors were so ignorant that they did not know what caused it, and consequently could not administer the proper remedy. In any case very few recovered; most people died within about three days of the appearance of the tumours described above, most of them without any fever or other symptoms.

The violence of this disease was such that the sick communicated it to the healthy who came near them, just as a fire catches anything dry or oily near it. And it even went further. To speak to or go near the sick brought infection and a common death to the living; and moreover, to touch the clothes or anything else the sick had touched or worn gave the disease to the person touching. "

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The Black Death, 1348

Coming out of the East, the Black Death reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348 unleashing a rampage of death across Europe unprecedented in recorded history. By the time the epidemic played itself out three years later, anywhere between 25% and 50% of Europe's population had fallen victim to the pestilence.

The plague presented itself in three interrelated forms. The bubonic variant (the most common) derives its name from the swellings or buboes that appeared on a victim's neck, armpits or groin. These tumors could range in size from that of an egg to that of an apple. Although some survived


The Plague's Progress
the painful ordeal, the manifestation of these lesions usually signaled the victim had a life expectancy of up to a week. Infected fleas that attached themselves to rats and then to humans spread this bubonic type of the plague. A second variation - pneumonic plague - attacked the respiratory system and was spread by merely breathing the exhaled air of a victim. It was much more virulent than its bubonic cousin - life expectancy was measured in one or two days. Finally, the septicemic version of the disease attacked the blood system.

Having no defense and no understanding of the cause of the pestilence, the men, women and children caught in its onslaught were bewildered, panicked, and finally devastated.




Ref: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Black Plague_My nest Focus

The Black Death, or The Black Plague, was one of the most deadly pandemics in human history. It probably began in Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 75 million people; there were an estimated 20 to 30 million deaths in Europe alone. The Black Death is estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of Europe’s population. [Wikipedia]

Monday, August 8, 2011

Frequently Asked Questions on Chikungunya


1. What is Chikungunya?

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted through mosquito bites. It is usually seen in tropical areas.

2. Who can get infected with Chikungunya?

Anyone can get infected with Chikungunya virus. The virus infection can be serious in new borns and in old people.

3. What are the symptoms of Chikungunya?

Main symptoms are high fever and joint pains. Joint pains can persist even long after recovery from the disease.

4. After infection, how soon I will see symptoms?

Chikungunya symptoms are seen after 1 to 12 days of infection. In rare cases, no symptoms are seen. The symptoms get worse in case of old people.

5. Is there any treatment for Chikungunya?

There are no vaccines or medicines for Chikungunya. Medication is done to reduce symptoms and pain.

6. How can I prevent Chikungunya infection?

Chikungunya is transmitted by mosquito. Taking various steps to minimize mosquito bite is the only effective prevention technique.

7. Can I get Chikungunya from another person?

No. Direct human to human transmission is not possible. The disease is transmitted from one person to another only through mosquito bites.

8. Is Chikungunya fatal?

No. Human immune system is capable of recovery from this disease in almost all cases. But it might take a while for the symptoms to disappear, especially the joint pains. But the outbreak at Reunion island is suspected to have caused 200 deaths. The risk is higher for older people.

9. What is the impact of Chikungunya infection during pregnancy?

Pregnant woman can get Chikungunya infection at any stage of pregnancy. The chances of passing the infection to fetus is very less. If the pregnant woman is infected at the time of delivery, the virus can be transmitted to the new born child. If a new born is infected the risk is considerably higher. So it is important to ensure that in Chikungunya areas pregnant woman is protected from mosquito bite.

10. Is it ok to breast feed if the mother is infected with Chikungunya?

Currently there is no evidence that Chikungunya virus is transmitted through breast milk. Again the best defence for the child is to use mosquito nets and repellents to reduce the risk of mosquito bite.

http://www.chikungunya.in

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Prevention of Chikungunya

We are yet to find a vaccine for Chikungunya. The good news is that a number of Chikungunya vaccines are in experimental stage. Currently the only way to prevent Chikungunya disease to avoid mosquito bites! Chikungunya virus spreads from human to human only through mosquito carrier. Hence mosquito breeding control is the best way to fight Chikungunya.

http://www.chikungunya.in
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