Plague Epidemics Research Articles

Perceptions of plague in eighteenth‐century Europe†

AbstractMajor epidemics of plague in Germany and France in the early eighteenth century and in Moscow in the 1770s brought an end to a series of epidemic disasters in Europe which had started with the Black Death. The article examines what they had in common, and seeks to understand why they should have ended when they did. It shows that European governors were unanimous in insisting on rigid quarantine and other measures for containing the disease developed over previous centuries, despite their ignorance of plague's precise causes. It shows also that physicians across Europe were more deeply divided than they had ever been on the issue of contagion, and now engaged in an international dispute about whether the acknowledged cruelties inflicted by compulsory quarantines were wholly counterproductive, or a price worth paying for the prevention of still worse disasters. The article concludes by drawing on recent work on plague in the Ottoman Empire, and on research into the ancient DNA of the second pandemic, in order to set the epidemic history of western Europe in a wider comparative context.

No particular genomic features underpin the dramatic economic consequences of 17th century plague epidemics in Italy

SummaryThe 17th century plague epidemic had a particularly strong demographic toll in Southern Europe, especially Italy, where it caused long-lasting economical damage. Whether this resulted from ineffective sanitation measures or more pathogenic Yersinia pestis strains remains unknown. DNA screening of 26 skeletons from the 1629-1630 plague cemetery of Lariey (French Alps) identified two teeth rich in plague genetic material. Further sequencing revealed two Y. pestis genomes phylogenetically closest to those from the 1636 outbreak of San Procolo a Naturno, Italy. They both belonged to a cluster extending from the Alps to Northern Germany that probably propagated during the Thirty Years war. Sequence variation did not support faster evolutionary rates in the Italian genomes and revealed only rare private non-synonymous mutations not affecting virulence genes. This, and the more heterogeneous spatial diffusion of the epidemic outside Italy, suggests environmental or social rather than biological causes for the severe Italian epidemic trajectory.

The formation of the sanitary service in the Voronezh region in the XVIII–XIX centuries

The aim of the work was to study the history of the formation of the sanitary service in the Voronezh region in the XVIII–XIX centuries. The material of the research was archival materials of the State Archives of the Voronezh Region, the Voronezh Regional Universal Scientific Library named after I.S. Nikitin. The article presents the main historical stages in the development of the sanitary and epidemiological service of the period of the 18th — 19th centuries. Brief information about the first doctors on the territory of the Voronezh province, the raging epidemics of scurvy, typhus, and plague is presented. The most terrible disease that the population of the Voronezh province faced in the first quarter of the 18th century was the plague. Anti-epidemic measures to combat the plague included the establishment of strong outposts and quarantines on the roads, the burning of houses with belongings, horses and cattle, the delay of couriers and the reception of letters through fire with their three times rewriting, the death penalty if the above measures were violated. In the 18th century, the first hospital for the civilian population was opened in the Voronezh region. Medical institutions were poor, poorly equipped, there was an acute shortage of personnel and medical supplies. In 1797, medical boards were organized in the provincial cities, consisting of an inspector, an obstetrician and an operator. The general supervision of hospitals, keeping records of infectious diseases, monitoring the quality of food, conducting forensic medical examinations, and examining patients was entrusted to the council. In the 19th century, cholera became widespread among the population. To prevent the incidence of smallpox, vaccination of the population was carried out since 1802. At the beginning of the 19th century, the replenishment of medical personnel in the Voronezh province was due to midwives. The situation with medical personnel changed only towards the end of the 19th century. The end of the century is characterized by a significant increase in socially significant infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis, syphilis.

Epidemics Forecast From SIR-Modeling, Verification and Calculated Effects of Lockdown and Lifting of Interventions

Due to the current COVID-19 epidemic plague hitting the worldwide population it is of utmost medical, economical and societal interest to gain reliable predictions on the temporal evolution of the spreading of the infectious diseases in human populations. Of particular interest are the daily rates and cumulative number of new infections, as they are monitored in infected societies, and the influence of non-pharmaceutical interventions due to different lockdown measures as well as their subsequent lifting on these infections. Estimating quantitatively the influence of a later lifting of the interventions on the resulting increase in the case numbers is important to discriminate this increase from the onset of a second wave. The recently discovered new analytical solutions of Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model allow for such forecast. In particular, it is possible to test lockdown and lifting interventions because the new solutions hold for arbitrary time dependence of the infection rate. Here we present simple analytical approximations for the rate and cumulative number of new infections.

Impacts of the plague epidemic on the Kingdom of Bohemia in the second half of the XIVth century and at the beginning of the XVth century

Although the medieval plague epidemic had a global impact, its intensity varied from region to region in Europe. Plague rates as well as mortality rates were conditioned by climatic and geographical conditions, population density, migration, and trade activities, as well as nutritional opportunities and mental or cultural habits. If we look at Europe as a whole, then the Czech lands, the Bohemian Kingdom and the Moravian Margraviate were among the areas affected by plague epidemics in the XIVth and XVth centuries much less than medieval France, England, Italy, or the German lands of the Holy Roman Empire. The causes of the lower intensity of the plague epidemic in Bohemia and Moravia can be seen in all of the aspects mentioned above, which does not, however, mean that the impact of the plague epidemic in the Kingdom of Bohemia was not, in some regards, comparable to that in Western Europe. Research on the medieval plague epidemic in Bohemia and Moravia has struggled with a lack of relevant sources from the very beginning. The limited explanatory power of the sources has also influenced the limited interest of Czech historians in this topic. The only debate that was ever conducted about the impact of the plague epidemic in a Czech intellectual milieu concerned its possible influence on the outbreak of the Hussite revolution, or the degree of the intensity of the plague in 1380. This debate quite clearly led to the conclusion that in plague epidemics, or in their impact on pre-Hussite society, it is not possible to see a significant or even decisive cause of the outbreak of the Hussite revolution.

Plague and Astrology in the Fourteenth Century: The Plague Tractate by Augustine of Trento

The 14th-century plague tractate by Augustine of Trento addresses the matter of plague before the Black Death. The text aims both to predict plague epidemics and to prevent the disease’s spreading. The author attempts to forecasts the outbreak of plague epidemics thanks to the methods of judicial astrology. He also advises hygiene rules and dietary precepts in order to counter the spread of the disease. Moreover, Augustine makes clear that astrological knowledge and techniques serve medical purposes and medical practice can benefit from astrology. In fact, he discusses the topic of medical prognostication and defends the idea that medical practice should not be empirical but guided by astrological principles. The treatise draws on the major astrological and medical sources of Greek and Arab origin and contains references to contemporary masters of medicine. The article updates the author’s biography, examines the manuscript tradition, analyzes the two redactional stages of the text, and provides a new critical edition.

АНТРОПОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ВЗГЛЯД НА ЭПИДЕМИИ ЧУМЫ В ИСТОРИЧЕСКОМ ПРОШЛОМ

At many times in their history, humans have faced major epidemics. The “Black Death”, which broke out in the middle of the 14th century, is believed to be the deadliest one. The total number of the deceased population and the scale in many ways had a dramatic impact on the course of subsequent historical events. Until recently, the myths dating back to the Middle Ages have prevailed in scientific circles. They have remained unrevised despite the latest achievements in the research on the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, the history of climate and medicine, and the extensive published data, making it of an interest to both reconsider certain established dogmas and reconstruct the algorithm of the course of major plague epidemics from the historical past using the results of the available paleogenetic, epidemiological, and climatological studies. This triggered our discussion on the nonlinear nature of the course of plague pandemics. The analysis of the historical sources showed that the scale and speed of the spread of plague epidemics in new territories directly depended on the degree of inclusion of cities and regions of the Afro-Eurasian space in the economic system of the Great Silk Road, the proximity to various epidemic centers of plague. The decisive influence of the anthropogenic factor on the duration and main directions of the spread of plague epidemics was revealed. The multivariate onset and course of pandemic plague waves were recognized. Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact place where the spread of the plague epidemics ended or to identify their consequences.

Платоническая традиция и теория эпидемий в раннее Новое время

Most of the studies on the history of medicine, pay special attention to how the plague epidemics in 14th–16th centuries had changed the medical theory and practice. In the medical discourse, those epidemics helped to shape the “epistemology of particulars (particularia)” which contrast with the scholastic epistemology dealing with the search of universal causes. Marsilio Ficino, one of the most influential natural philosophers of the Renaissance, combines scholastic medicine and philosophy of ancient authors in order to develop his theory of epidemics in the treatises Consilio contra la pestilentia and De vita. He identifies the external and internal causes of plague and describes ways to combat the disease. The external cause is the constellations of planets which cause putrid exhalation in certain territories that is an example of conventional scholastic epistemology dealing with mass diseases. The internal cause is identified with the inability of the body to resist the disease “from within”. The main focus of my paper is the argument that, according to Ficino, philosophers have a special ability to resist disease “from within”. The figure of Socrates and his ability to withstand the Plague of Athens allows Ficino to formulate a new take on epidemics which falls within the scope of “epistemology of particulars”. From the historical point of view, the novelty of my approach comes from the fact that I trace the source of Ficino’s knowledge about Socrates’ disease resistance ability to Noct. Att. 2.1. of Aulus Gellius. Ficino’s natural philosophy suggests that a philosopher from their very birth is “by nature” predisposed to philosophical contemplation, therefore the realization of their vital destination through multiple sympathetic connections affects all levels of the universe. Ficino’s doctrine has a social and political dimension since a philosopher (i.e. a platonist), attracting positive astral influences, levels the effect of negative “heavenly” causes of mass diseases and thus benefits all people around him. Thus, the practice of philosophy (i.e. Platonism in Ficino’s interpretation) during epidemics is not simply a form of leisure time or private activity for a philosopher but a form of concern for public health. The paper also offers a commented Russian translation of chapters 1–2, with the Proem, of Ficino’s treatise Consilio contra la pestilentia.

Regional Authorities and Local Self-Government Bodies of the Terek Region in the Fight against Infectious Diseases and Epidemics in the Late 19th — Early 20th Century

The article attempts to study the causes of the spread of infectious diseases in the Terek region at the turn of the 19th — 20th centuries, as well as the activities of local authorities aimed at the localization of epidemics. The causes, nature and dynamics of these processes in different years are studied. It is revealed that the causes of epidemics of typhus, cholera, plague and other dangerous diseases for humans include both the natural and climatic conditions of the population, and the “seasonal” nature associated with active migration from the East, Central Asia and the inner regions of Russia through the territory of the Terek region. Thanks to the newly introduced archival documents, it was possible to reconstruct the mechanism of interaction between state bodies and public initiatives to improve the sanitary and epidemic situation in the region.

The role of the world health organization in solving international public health problems: history, modernity and development prospects

Epidemics of smallpox, cholera, plague and other infectious diseases in the world in the past were accompanied by the deaths of millions of people and often threatened humanity with destruction as a biological species. Therefore, society was forced to join forces to create an organization that would provide health protection on a global scale. On April 7, 1948, 26 UN member states created the World Health Organization, the main goal of which was to help provide the protection of health of the population of all countries of the world. Purpose of the study - analysis of the historical data of the process of creating the World Health Organization, achievements for all the years of its existence, financing in last years and formation of the opinions of authors on the role of this organization in solving health problems of all humanity. Results. The article presents data on stages of the formation of the World Health Organization. Information about positive results for more than 70 years in solving reproductive health problems, maternal and child mortality, eradicating many infectious diseases in different parts of the world and other problems is detailed. Joint resolutions of the World Health Organization with the United Nations were adopted about general and complete disarmament, protection of humanity from atomic radiation, ban on the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons, defining of the role of doctors and other health workers in the preservation and strengthening of the world. Information on the World Health Organization funding is provided. The prospects for the development of the organization are described. Conclusions. The World Health Organization actively continues its work – maintains contact with international experts, governments and partners for quick collection of scientific data on a new virus, tracks its distribution and assesses its virulence, provides to countries and population recommendations on health protection measures and preventing the spread of infection. The global climatic crisis and the coronavirus infection pandemic showed that the role of the World Health Organization should increase to prevent cataclysms in some countries and globally. It is the World Health Organization that has a huge positive international experience in fighting various public health problems and it remains the only effective organization that consolidates the efforts of most countries of the world to overcome the problems of all humanity.

A Rathole: Foucault, Freud, and the Problem of Isolation

The article discusses the problem of isolation and draws a parallel between two different approaches to it - Michel Foucault’s archeology of power and Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. Foucault’s perspective is exemplified by his critique of the strategies of power as they were applied to the epidemics of leprosy and bubonic plague. For leprosy there was an undifferentiated exclusionary space, while the the plague brought about a segmented space for confinement. The passage from the one strategy to the other marks the development of the disciplinary model of power: leper colonies are transformed into prisons and psychiatric wards. Freud’s approach is examined in his treatment of the Rat Man, the patient whose analysis prompted Freud to formulate his theory of obsessional neurosis, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The article emphasizes the relevance of the problem of OCD to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The traditional strategy of power applied to leprosy was isolation by means of exile from towns, while for the plague isolation meant shutting towns down with their inhabitants each in their own place as if imprisoned. COVID-19 brought about a new strategy of self-isolation which entails creating physical and psychological barriers together with social distancing. Obsessional neurosis is evolving from an individual pathology into a kind of collective one: epidemiology influences mentality. In conclusion, the article takes up two literary examples - Roman Mikhailov’s text “The Wrong Side of a Rat,” and Varlam Shalamov’s story “Lepers,” from the Kolyma Stories collection - in which breaking out of isolation, disease and infection are presented as alternative affective experiences.

Gregory of Tours on Sixth-Century Plague and Other Epidemics

Analyzes philologically and historically all testimony in the works of Gregory of Tours about various epidemics that struck Gaul, Iberia, and Italy in the sixth century; in particular, those of the most serious disease, “inguinal epidemic,” that is, bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis), as well as an illness that may have been smallpox (Variola major). Establishes that Gregory’s testimony, inspired by his personal and pastoral-theological concerns, is reliable and informative; delineates the motivations and sources for reporting the recurring epidemics of plague as they emerge from his writings; shows that Gregory’s information is robust but geographically constrained: of the twenty-two places and regions where he knows unambiguously about plague, only four are further than 400 km from his familial Clermont (Fig. 1). Gregory’s twenty-two mentions of plague also refer to six epidemics between c. 543–47 and c. 591–94, of which he treats four in greater detail; his silences are confirmed to be significant only rarely. Two epidemics are newly dated to springtime, and the initial outbreak is shown as likely to have reached Gaul from a western port. Contagion mirrors communications infrastructures and affected the countryside as well as towns, which populations tended to flee. Symptoms, epidemiology, and heavy mortality align with the ancient DNA proof that the pathogen was Yersinia pestis; pneumonic plague is suggested in two cases. Gregory’s historical testimony is confirmed by and integrated into the new biomolecular archaeological discoveries of early medieval plague victims in western Europe. Fig. 1. Plague outbreaks reported by Gregory of Tours, victims with robust aDNA of Y. pestis, and mass burials.

Memory and the Representation of Public Health Crises: Remembering the Plague of Provence in the Tricentennial

From May 1720 through the summer of 1722, the French region of Provence and surrounding areas experienced one of the last major epidemics of plague to strike Western Europe. The Plague of Provence (or “Great Plague of Marseille”) represents a major eighteenth-century disaster that left in its wake as many as 126,000 deaths. Over the last three hundred years, commemorative artworks have memorialized the disaster and helped define how it is remembered. To help mark the tricentennial, this essay will examine a series of images portraying different aspects of the Plague of Provence. In particular, it will analyze how these images depict what I argue are two central themes in the art of the Plague of Provence: Marseillais civic virtue and the medical profession. Doing so reveals how these subjects were valued or perceived in the first decades of the eighteenth century, and why this matters today as we confront new contagious diseases including COVID-19.

Feljegyzések az 1738/39-es, utolsó nagy kolozsvári pestisjárványról

Following a short history of plague epidemics, the author describes the outbreaks of the plague in Transylvania and especially in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania). It is a historic fact the last great epidemic of this town was in 1738/39. About its events, János Boguslavski, one of the seniors of the Unitarian College of Kolozsvár made some important registrations into the school protocols. He registered all important events of the town between December 1737 and August 1739. His Latin notes are presented in Hungarian translation. It is worth mentioning that this plague is commemorated even in our days by a baroque column and an ornamental gate in the town.

"The Future is History": 12 Monkeys and the Origin of AIDS

Set at the start and end of an epidemic plague, Terry Gilliam's 1996 film conflates schizophrenia, hypochondria, carceral confinement, and unregulated experimentation. But these timeless themes have a singular locus: the ultimate truth of a fictional virus. In turn, this locus positions 12 Monkeys in a historical frame: within contemporary discourse on the origin of AIDS.

Epidemiological Measures To Protect Public Health In Varna For The Period From The Liberation To The Beginning Of The Balkan War

In the critical situation of the global COVID-19 pandemic in which we are currently, it is good to look at history and see how the population of Varna coped with the suppression of epidemics after the Liberation with the means and capabilities of the then-existing medicine and health care. Prior to the Liberation in 1878, the country had often been hit by major epidemics of cholera, plague, and malaria. The reasons were: bad hygienic conditions, lack of sanitary control over the infectious diseases, untimely treatment of the diseased. As a port city, major military units would gather and the lack of supervision over the infectious diseases led to mass epidemics which took the lives of thousands. Immediately after the Liberation, the Bulgarian medical community realized the necessity of immediate measures and organization of anti-epidemic initiatives. The objective of this report is to historically research the first measures undertaken for the solution of public problems regarding dealing with epidemics, decrease of mortality rates and determining their significance for the improvement of the population’s health in Varna during the period reviewed. Performed is a review of archived documents and historical analysis of the first anti-epidemic initiatives in Varna. The results are part of a broader research, which indicates that for the period from 1902 to 1910 infectious diseases have decreased 10 times. Taking timely and adequate measures in the fight against infectious diseases leads to the improvement of public health.

Plague and Poor Relief in Cambridge, 1665-1666

Plague and the poor law were inextricably entwined, yet there has been little research into the extent to which poor relief contributed to the economic costs of plague epidemics. While much of the huge expense plague represented to local communities was met largely by special plague rates, fasts and fines, and income from charitable briefs, poor relief was a part of this mixed economy of funds. Through a microhistory of the parish of St Benedict in Cambridge in the town's worst outbreak of plague in 1665–1666, this article indicates that poor relief supported a substantial number of families and paid for their burials. The costs met by overseers represented around one month's additional parish spending. If this was scaled up proportionately to all fourteen parishes this would represent a significant sum of money.

The Antonins from Dubrovnik died in Epidemics of Plague and Earthquake on 1667

The Antonins from Dubrovnik died in Epidemics of Plague and Earthquake on 1667

On plague and Ebola in a time of COVID-19

The global COVID-19 pandemic recalls the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15 and earlier much more lethal plague epidemics. All share several characteristics, even though the second and third plague epidemics dwarfed the both the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak and COVID-19 in terms of mortality. This essay reviews the mortality due to Ebola and plague and their lethality; the spatial and socioeconomic dimensions of plague mortality; the role of public action in containing the two diseases; and their economic impact.

Testamenty mieszkańców Lwowa z czasów epidemii pierwszej ćwierci XVII wieku

The Lviv Citizens’ Testaments during the 17th-century Plagues
 The article deals with the testaments written by the inhabitants of Lviv during the plague epidemics in 1602, 1623 and 1625. The acts of last will that emerged during an extraordinary period required special permission and alleviation of the procedure. When the city was haunted by the plague, its frightened population, together with the local officials, left it to escape the infection. These circumstances made some legal procedures in the composition of the testaments more complicated: the local officials who were responsible for providing thi stype of legal services delayed a visit to make a will or refused to come because of the fear or self-infection. Therefore, already sick or still healthy residents of Lviv and its suburbs were forced to express their last will in the presence of not all officials or casual witnesses who agreed to listen and record their last wills. As a result of such non-professional compilation, the testaments which emerged in the plague periods contain many unique details upon the history of daily life in the city during the epidemic. The texts also shed some light on personal perception of the epidemic by some Lviv residents and officials, their preventive actions, and relationships between family members during this rough time. These testaments also reveal the tragic pages of the last hours of plague-infected people who died outside of Lviv at anapiary, near windmills, or in plague camps far from their families and homes. Such acts of last will also show misunderstandings by the testators who divided property in extreme conditions assuming that the whole family might die, and it would not be inherited by anyone. On the contrary, in the case of the death of all members of a family, the testators asked to transfer their property for praying for the souls of the dead. The last option was also practiced among childless testators. In general, the testament texts of the epidemic periods were not written in a high style. Mainly, they contain a declaration of the essential orders concerning debt, property, the salvation of the soul, and the burial of the body, although there were some exceptions.