History of Epidemic Control History Essay Research

History of Epidemic Control
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History of Epidemic Control
Nations, Cities, and Villages Experiences on the Epidemics or Outbreaks
The plague stroke Siena in 1348, and mortality began in May. Kohl and Smith noted that the outbreak was a cruel and horrible matter that the author found it challenging where to start describing it pitiless and cruel ways which left the survivors stupefied and in despair (p.49). In Siena, those struck lost their lives nearly at once; people would swell in their groin and armpits, and died while talking. Father left son, husband her wife, and one sibling the other; with each fleeing and leaving the other, since the ailment appeared to spread through the eyes and breath. In this vein, people died such that not even one was willing to bury the dead for payment nor out of close friendship. So, household members buried their dead in a ditch, without services, without priests, and without death bell tolling. Great pits were prepared in various places across Siena and filled with thousands of the dead. “More pits were dug as soon as the previously prepared ones became filled” (p.50). The Black Death swept across Europe and reached London, prompting residents to start digging mass graves. One-third to half of London’s 40,000-100,000 residents died, and thousands were buried in newly created cemeteries in West and East Smithfield (p.444). As the peak of the plague, 200 bodies were buried each day.[Benjamin G Kohl, and Andrews A. Smith, "Major Problems in the History of the Italian Renaissance." (1995): 49-53] [Benjamin G Kohl, and Andrews A. Smith, "Major Problems in the History of the Italian Renaissance." (1995): 49-53] [Ewen, Callaway, "The Black Death decoded: the genome of a 660-year-old bacterium is revealing secrets from one of Europe's darkest chapters." Nature 478, no. 7370 (2011): 444-447.]
Treatments by Scientists/Doctors and Others in Society
The local governments quickly responded to the outbreaks. In the culmination of the 14th century, various Italian urban centers had created plague ordinances designed to the most significant public health danger. City patricians were mostly practical mean, but as similar to elite physicians, they believed that the plague was triggered by various types of corruptions that potentially upset the humoral balance within the body and thus create deadly disease. The familiar sources of corruption included noxious smells ubiquitous within the medieval city. Regulators investigated the sale of fish and meat, rotting vegetables and fruits, as well as industrial activities like tanning. It is practical to dismiss their emphasis on the techniques used to skin a cow, thus corrupting the meat. However, the most critical point is that provinces and towns in Italy have embraced their role in regulating public health by the culmination of the 14th century. The physicians felt ashamed and useless since they did not visit the ill as they feared being infected (p.52). Also, they did not attend to the sick since there was little, they could do for the ill passed on except for the few towards the culmination, who survived with matured swellings.[Duane J. Osheim, “Plague and Public Health in Europe, with Special Re...