The origin of the Black Death is not definitively known. One accepted answer is that a bacillus that lived in fleas’ stomachs transferred the disease. Fleas would infest rats, and the rats would transfer the disease. Rats were able to reproduce very quickly, which made it so easy for the plague to spread. Rats would tag along on ships, on which they would have bales of hay and saddlebags.
Caroline Sullivan English, History 10 4/29/11 The Black Plague and Social Mobility The Black Plague caused cataclysmic change to European history. Wiping out more than half of Europe, it devastated all levels of society. The early 14th century in Europe was a new age of rebirth and discovery; and disaster. The increase in exchange of people and ideas throughout the world caused more and more people to come in contact with each other, and so did their diseases. All it took was a few plague-infected fleas from Central Asia to start the chain reaction of death and terror.
The Black Death swept across Asia and Europe during the middle 1300’s. It began in Central Asia. Ships that were used for trading carried rats. When the people got bitten by the fleas on the rats, the fleas gave them the plague. From these ships, the plague spread throughout Europe.
Both scientists state that the epidemic “spread throughout the continent far faster than any modern plague” and that the plague was in fact “a viral hemorrhagic fever, similar to Ebola.” (A.W, 3). The devastating effects from the plague led the high death rates among the citizens of Europe. The Black Death is “estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europe's total population”. In total, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated “450 million down to 350–375 million” (Alchon, 21) in the 14th century. Aside from the Plague deaths, there was also a decline in the birth rate.
Preston also produces an effective atmosphere of fear by displaying that doctors, who are almost always viewed as being heroic, can just as easily, if not so faster than any human being, get the virus. Preston constantly reminds us of how tiny and how dangerous a virus is. The impact of Ebola or Marburg could extinguish the entire planet if it got a grip. “Within 24 hours, a virus could make its way out of Africa on a plane and into such places like London, Paris, or New York and then spread out to the rest of the world.” The tiny HIV virus has already spread damage throughout the human population of the world, and this is a point the author makes numerous times. A very minute amount of contaminated blood is enough to infect a human with the Ebola virus, so those working in the Hot Zone must always be careful for the smallest little tear that might allow it into their space suits.
How can the governments and the organizations solve this issue? Can the citizens participate with the government to put a limit to the fast speared of the diseases? All these questions will be discussed in this essay in order to increase the health expectancy. The biggest factor that contributes to low health expectancy is smoking. Many people die every year and others suffering from cancer due to smoking.
Hypokinetic Diseases In 1900 the leading causes of death were infectious diseases like Tuberculosis and Typhoid. Today the leading causes of death are HYPOKINETIC diseases (HYPO meaning low and KINETIC meaning movement). Hypokinetic diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, anxiety, depression, arthritis, and low back pain are growing at an alarming rate. Hypokinetic diseases spread when we believe myths like “old people can not exercise,” “exercising is dangerous,” or “I don’t have time to exercise.” It is very important that we make the time to stop this epidemic from spreading. You are not the only one at risk.
They create huge media attention as the rate of change from what would have been considered as ‘normal’ conditions is very high, for example an earthquake can turn an entire city to ruins and kill hundreds of people in just minutes. They have a limited areal extent and usually have a low predictability. However improvements in science and technology are slowly increasing the predictability of the occurrence of these events but the impact it will have is more difficult to determine. Other examples of catastrophic hazards include tsunamis and volcanoes. Chronic hazards are less newsworthy than catastrophic hazards but because their effects are cumulative over time but the effect can be just as, if not more severe.
The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, and the longer you have smoked, the higher your risk of lung cancer. As you can see smoking causes more problems than you imagine. This problems explained above are just health problems, but what about your appearance? Smoking causes halitosis that is noticeably unpleasant odors exhaled in
The Impact of the Industrial Revolution on Our Environment The Industrial Revolution had a large, negative impact on the environment. Before the Industrial Revolution most peppered moths in Britain were white, however, the amount of coal and pollutants produced during the Revolution changed the color of the moths' environment. Soon, the darker moths were more well camouflaged, and the white moths all but died out. Peppered moths were not the only creatures impacted by the Industrial Revolution, humans and domesticated animals were also effected. “Industrial Britain was hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1831-32, 1848-49, 1854 and 1867.” ("Diseases in industrial cities in the Industrial Revolution" 1).