Plague Outbreaks Research Articles

Research on the Experience of Urban Epidemic Prevention and Governance in Chang'an City in Tang Dynasty Based on the Analysis of Historical Data

Chinese cities have a history of at least five thousand years, and the city of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty is a milestone. The planning and design of Chang'an City represented the most advanced level in the world at that time and laid the foundation for the design of China's capital city. With the global outbreak of the new crown virus COVID-19, it is even more necessary to enter the "post-epidemic era" for urban epidemic prevention and governance measures. In the history of the Tang Dynasty, there were 49 plague outbreaks, but they still created prosperous situations such as the "Excellent Governance during the Zhenguan Times" and " Flourishment Age of Kaiyuan Era". Based on the historical data and documentary interviews and analysis of the textual research, this article summarizes the urban epidemic prevention and management of the Tang Chang’an city from six aspects, including the site selection, water supply and drainage system, medical isolation facilities, lifang management system, landscaping and mainstream medical ideological guidance system, and summarize the advanced experience of typical capitals in ancient China to provide a reference for modern urban epidemic prevention and governance.

Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures

Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures

The Plague (Black Death) Is Still Around and May Come Back

Plague has been among the most devastating infectious diseases in human history. The decrease in the plague in recently reported cases and studies implies that the plague should not recur, but the fact is that it (Black Death) is still around and may appear again. The disease can be occult for many years. The reemergence of the plague epidemic with unusual clinical form, magnitude, and rapid expansion at any place and time without prior notice could pose a serious risk to public health. Plague outbreaks most likely result from the reactivation of organisms in local foci. The reemergence of foci suggests that environmental or climatic changes could be favorable for an epidemiological cycle of Yersinia pestis. Thus, countries harboring plague foci can be at risk of outbreaks in the future. Different epidemiological aspects of the plague must be emphasized in prophylactic medical plans and health education systems, and healthcare workers should be alert and aware of the natural cycle, as well as clinical symptoms and signs of plague. Finally, surveillance, education, and research are also suggested regarding this fatal infection and other emerging diseases.

Quarantine: Concept, Origin and Impact on COVID-19 Pandemic

Although, the story of the beginnings of quarantine is associated particularly with the epidemiology of pest (pestilence or plague), the concept is deeply rooted in religious scriptures. Whereas the Holy Bible commands the separation of people with leprosy from other people as early as 1513 BC, the Hadees (Reported Sayings of the Last Messenger Muhammad (AD 570-632) ordains “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place." This dictate seems to have its influence to the main tenets of the Law of Ragusa dated July 27, 1377 which stipulate: -Visitors from areas where plague was endemic were not being admitted into Ragusa until they had remained in isolation for a month. No one from Ragusa was allowed to go to the isolation area. The quarantine is much modified in modern practice because of the better understanding of contagion and introduction of new terminology. Social distancing and self -isolation have proved their worth in the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. Shielding of clinically extremely vulnerable individuals has been implicated with remarkable success in UK. However, public health practices including quarantine have always been much debated and economic, cultural, ethical and political issues have been raised. Today, many countries have the legal authority to impose quarantine. However, the WHO advises that it must be fully respectful of the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons, in accordance with Article 3 of the International Health Regulations -2005.

Pneumonic Plague: Incidence, Transmissibility and Future Risks

Pneumonic plague outbreaks are relatively infrequent in modern times, but in the early part of the 20th century, they were commonplace including several well-documented epidemics responsible for the deaths of thousands. The transmissibility of this disease seems to be discontinuous since in some outbreaks few transmissions occur, while in others, the progression of the epidemic is explosive. Modern epidemiological studies explain that transmissibility within populations is heterogenous with relatively few subjects likely to be responsible for most transmissions and that ‘super spreading events’, particularly at the start of an outbreak, can lead to a rapid expansion of cases. These findings concur with outbreaks observed in real-world situations. It is often reported that pneumonic plague is rare and not easily transmitted but this view could lead to unnecessary complacency since future risks such as the spontaneous incidence of anti-microbial strains, climate change leading to a disruption of natural cycles within plague foci and use of plague as a bioweapon cannot be discounted. Carers and first responders are vulnerable, particularly in poorer countries where access to medicines and protection equipment may be limited, outbreaks occur in inaccessible areas or where there is a lack of surveillance due to a paucity of funds.

A review of public health important fleas (Insecta, Siphonaptera) and flea-borne diseases in India.

Fleas (Insecta, Siphonaptera) are important vectors of plague and murine typhus in many parts of the world. Currently, about 2700 flea species were described in the world. The most common vector flea Xenopsylla cheopis is found throughout India, but X. astia, and X. brasiliensis are found less and limited in distribution associated with the domestic rats such as Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus, Mus musculus, and Bandicota bengalensis. Bubonic plague is a major flea-borne disease caused by the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis, transmitted from rats to humans via the rodent flea, X. cheopis. A major outbreak of plague and high mortality occurred in India. After 1966 with the 3 decadal intervals, plague cases occurred only during the year 1994 reported in 5 different states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi and subsequently plague cases occurred during 2002 and 2004 after the one-decade interval in Himachal Pradesh (2002). Another outbreak of bubonic plague was reported in Dangud village, Barkhot tehsil, Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand during October 2004. Ctenocephalides fleas are common in cats and dogs, which are the main vectors of bacteria rickettsiae, such as Rickettsia typhi, R. felis, R. conorii, and Bartonella henselae. Molecular and serological evidence also confirms the presence of R. typhi, R. conorii R. felis and B. henselae pathogens in cats and other fleas in India. Flea bites and flea-borne dermatitis are common in men and pet animals. Because of the re-emergence of the plague, updated information on fleas and flea-borne diseases are essential to control the flea vectors and flea-borne diseases in India. Hence, this comprehensive review updates the available information on fleas and fleas transmitted diseases in India.

Between Expiatory Religious Processions and Individual Escapes: Responses to Bubonic Plague Epidemics in the Historiae of Gregory of Tours and Paul the Deacon

The aim of this article is to explore individual and collective responses to plague outbreaks in Italy and Merovingian Gaul between the mid-sixth and -seventh centuries through the narrations of two Latin Christian authors: Gregory of Tours (538/539–594) and Paul the Deacon (c.720s–c.799). Firstly, it focuses on Gregory’s plague accounts, stressing the contrast he offers between bishops who were able to manage plague epidemics though individual and/or collective religious practices and those whose efforts proved inadequate. Secondly, the article examines Paul’s plague narrative, highlighting the difficulties posed by his ambiguous vocabulary and his personal and theological concerns. Finally, it analyzes the Roman plague outbreak of 590, which is recounted by both Gregory and Paul. The article attempts to understand how the two authors perceived and evaluated plague responses within different cultural and political contexts and what the differences and similarities were between their reports on the 590 Roman plague.

Differential word expression analyses highlight plague dynamics during the second pandemic.

Research on the second plague pandemic that swept over Europe from the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries mainly relies on the exegesis of contemporary texts and is prone to interpretive bias. By leveraging certain bioinformatic tools routinely used in biology, we developed a quantitative lexicography of 32 texts describing two major plague outbreaks, using contemporary plague-unrelated texts as negative controls. Nested, network and category analyses of a 207-word pan-lexicome, comprising overrepresented terms in plague-related texts, indicated that ‘buboes' and ‘carbuncles' are words that were significantly associated with the plague and signalled an ectoparasite-borne plague. Moreover, plague-related words were associated with the terms ‘merchandise’, ‘movable’, ‘tatters', ‘bed’ and ‘clothes'. Analysing ancient texts using the method reported in this paper can certify plague-related historical records and indicate the particularities of each plague outbreak, which can inform on the potential sources for the causative Yersinia pestis.

Impact of Vaccination on the World Epizootic Situation Plague of Small Ruminants

According to OIE and FAO data in 2009-2019, there have been 2,884 outbreaks of plague of small ruminants (PPR) worldwide, mainly in Africa and Asia. Mortality from this pathology reaches 100 %. The economic damage caused by this disease to animal husbandry consists of a mass mortality, a decrease in the productivity of sick animals and the cost of quarantine measures in a disadvantaged area. Cartographic analysis showed that the highest concentration of PPR outbreaks for the indicated period was observed in five main regions. Northwest Africa (includes Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia); The Black Sea coast of Bulgaria; Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea (Israel); People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Southern, Southeastern and Eastern parts of the People’s Republic of China. Outbreaks with the largest number of dead animals were concentrated mainly in Bangladesh and China. Outbreaks with the largest number of dead animals were concentrated mainly in Bangladesh and China, where vaccinations have not been carried out in recent years. The study of the correlation between the PPR incidence rate and the number of animals immunized in the most disadvantaged states found only modest reductions in incidence as a result of vaccination campaigns. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was - 0.13 for Algeria, - 0.19 for Bangladesh and - 0.33 for Israel, which appears to be due to the small scale of vaccination campaigns. The obtained results of the epizootic analysis by PPR indicate insufficient coverage of animals susceptible to the pathogen by vaccination and a greater likelihood of new outbreaks of the disease not only in disadvantaged countries, but also the spread of infection in new territories.

Investigation of the first recent crayfish plague outbreak in Ireland and its subsequent spread in the Bruskey River and surrounding areas

White-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is a keystone species found in western European freshwater bodies, where it has suffered drastic declines due to pathogens, competition with non-indigenous crayfish species (NICS) and habitat deterioration. In Ireland, populations of (naturalised) A. pallipes have been considered healthy and abundant mainly because no diseases or NICS have been reported in the past decades. The present study investigated a sudden mass mortality event that occurred in the Erne catchment in 2015. Molecular analysis confirmed that the cause of the event was infection by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci (the causative agent of the crayfish plague). While in 2015 the spread of the pathogen appeared to remain confined to the outbreak’s epicentre and nearby upstream waters, follow up surveys using conventional methods and environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches indicated that by a year later (2016), the pathogen was still present and had spread downstream beyond Lough Gowna. No NICS were detected during the surveys conducted. This crayfish plague outbreak is of grave concern to Irish white-clawed crayfish and associated ecosystems.

Современный отечественный взгляд на «Черную смерть» и крупные эпидемические вспышки чумы в историческом прошлом

Research objectives: To analyze the main research trends of the last thirty years in the national historiography on the topic of the Black Death and major epidemic outbreaks of plague in the historical past. Research materials: The historiographic analysis was conducted based on both original domestic studies of the topic and those written in co-authorship with Western colleagues. To outline the main theoretical base of the topic, the author used major works on the historical theory, demography, climatology, paleogenetics, and phylogenetics of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis. Results and novelty of the research: The analysis showed that until the 1980s, the views of Russian historians on the epidemics of the historical past were based on the study of a major German epidemiologist in the second half of nineteenth century, H. Häser. At the same time, the main directions in the research of domestic historians on the topic were developed within the framework of an order from domestic biologists and epidemiologists. This situation began to change when, in the 1980s, Russian historical research took a course towards geographical determinism. From the second half of the 1990s to the 2000s, in connection with the publications of the American Turkologist U. Schamiloglu and French historians, new topics in the field of anthropology, cultural studies, and historical demography began to be addressed in the research of domestic authors. At the same time, all theoretical considerations continued to be formed within the framework of the Marxist theory of the “crisis of the Middle Ages”. Therefore, the “Black Death” was considered exclusively as a concomitant theme attached to the main events. Only in the 2010s, in the light of the growth of joint research with Western specialists in the field of archaeology, paleogenetics, and climatology was it possible to start moving towards the development of a new theoretical and methodological basis for research on the topic in Russian historiography. The result of this process was the publication of new studies which are likely to determine the predominant course of scientific research in the field of historical epidemiology in Russia in the coming years.

Black Plague: History and Analysis

The Black Death was a terrifying bubonic plague outbreak that swept over Europe and Asia in the 1300s. The plague ravaged Europe in October 1347, just as 12 boats from the Black Sea arrived in the Sicilian port of Messina. A large portion of the sailors on board had died, and the people who suffer were weakened and covered with dim wounds that flooded blood and release. The naval force of "death ships" was rapidly compelled out of the harbor by Sicilian subject matter experts, but it was too far to turn back: the Black Death would kill in excess of 20 million people all through Europe throughout the accompanying five years, representing in excess of 33% of the mainland's populace. The Black Death is said to have been achieved by the plague, which was achieved by a defilement with the minuscule organic entities Yersinia pestis. As demonstrated by present-day genomic examination, the Y. pestis strain introduced during the Black Death is genealogical to all or any circumnavigating Y. pestis strains known to cause ailment in individuals. Consequently, plague eruptions in the current time frame may be followed directly back to the Middle Ages. The Black Death, as demonstrated by other coherent disclosures, was achieved by a disease. It's hard to reproduce past plague pandemics solely dependent on rodent insect transmission since human cases are frequently the outcome of numerous transmission courses. During pandemics, the proliferation of plague has been an argumentative subject. The reason for the Black Death has been discussed ordinarily, with some guaranteeing it was brought about by a bacterial sickness (Yersinia Pestis) and others asserting it was brought about by a viral infection. In this survey study, we will try to clarify the causes, outcomes, and starting points of the pandemic.

The Epidemic Disease Act 1897 and its Amendment - A Perspective

The Epidemic Disease Act was enacted in 1897 to stop the spread of bubonic plague outbreak in Bombay at that time. The Act gives powers to the central and state government to take special measures and prescribe regulations to prevent the spread of dangerous epidemic disease. The act was invoked many times in the country since then and the last was in 2018 to prevent the spread of cholera in a Gujarat village. The covid-19 pandemic made the country to a standstill and the government machinery, health care workers and officials are working day night to contain the virus. The most unfortunate thing that happened in our country is unprovoked abuse, harassment and violence on the people who are at the forefront to implement preventive strategies by the public. The government felt that The Epidemic Disease Act was insufficient to protect the workforce and a new ordinance was brought to amend the Epidemic Disease Act of 1897. The ordinance has introduced a bill in both sections of parliament and now became an act. Both the act and its amendment are discussed here.

Omiški kraj u obrani od širenja epidemije kuge u godinama 1762-1765.

The Republic of Venice, whose prosperity depended primarily on unimpeded trade by land and sea, had long had a system of defence against infectious disease epidemics, particularly the plague as the biggest threat to the aforementioned trade. These measures were naturally applied in that part of Dalmatia under its authority. There, the city of Split was most imperilled by plague outbreaks as it was the main transit hub for goods arriving by land from the territory of the Ottoman Empire or by sea from Venice. Although to a lesser extent, the plague also threatened the areas of Omiš and Makarska, market towns that were more accessible to the populace from the hinterland, including the Imotski area and the south-western section of Herzegovina on the other side of the state border. A detailed overview of what had been undertaken from 1762 to 1765 to prevent outbreaks of the plague in the area under the authority of the Omiš provveditore was made possible by the extensive data contained in the records of the old Omiš archives, which were deposited in the provincial archives of the time in Zadar. These records simultaneously testify to the very arduous conditions for life and work by the domicile population in that period, as well as the efforts by the authorities to prevent death by starvation. This paper contains a series of data on everything undertaken at the orders of the Venetian central and provincial governments in the area under the jurisdiction of the Omiš provveditore to prevent the possible emergence and spread of the plague from 1762 to 1765 and the difficulties that ensued in the enforcement of these measures. Considerable attention is above all accorded to the surveillance of unpermitted travel by individuals and groups across the boundaries with neighbouring districts, i.e., Poljica and Imotski, and similarly to nearby islands. The border with the Ottoman Empire, whence the plague came into Dalmatia, was subject to the strictest supervision. Inside the Omiš area, particular care was dedicated to health inspections of travellers and goods at Dvare Fortress. A caravan route passed next to its walls and tower, whence coastal villages could be reached from the near or more remote interior and leading to the control stations before the entrances to the towns of Omiš and Makarska. A public health board with its seat in Omiš (Collegio di sanità d’Almissa) was responsible for the enforcement of all stipulated measures and specific decisionmaking related thereto. It selected its own delegate to the supervisory post next to Dvare Fortress, who collaborated with the Dvare superintendent responsible for the nearby village and the fortress commander. It should be noted that at least one member of the aforementioned board had to have a good working knowledge of the Croatian language and the Bosančica script, and such knowledge was also required of the Dvare delegates, who worked in shifts. Provisions stipulating the isolation of individual houses in cases of suspicion of the plague were strictly enforced. Groups of rural sentries (panduri) from villages in the Omiš area were posted in a specific order to guard the boundaries between individual neighbouring districts and the state border. Besides sentry duty, a major hardship for them after being relieved was the obligation to remain in isolation for several weeks in Viseć Fortress, whence they often escaped. The systematic overview of these circumstances contained in this paper may serve as an example for contemporaneous events in other territories of the Dalmatian Zagora region, for which the provveditore archives from that time were either not preserved or do not contain as many records on the topic, and also in cases of plague outbreaks before and thereafter, particularly from the beginning of the 1730s and 1780s.

The Mobile Woman: Getting Around during the 1630 Plague in Bologna

Legal proclamations show that during the 1630 plague outbreak in Bologna, Italy, women were required to remain quarantined in their homes for the duration of the epidemic while men remained mobile. However, primary texts and visual sources demonstrate that despite these legal restrictions, women remained active players in the fight against the plague by circumventing regulations. Significantly, women played a key role in sustaining the Bolognese economy, in particular by travelling to work in the silk industry. Moreover, while male doctors enjoyed special dispensations to avoid visiting the sick directly, female nurses left their homes to care for the daily needs of patients in the lazzaretto, the plague hospital. Artworks and primary texts depict a mobile woman. They show women from the poorest of backgrounds who were compelled to move through the city’s public spaces, remaining active in the street life of the plagued city. For instance, along with unlicensed women healers and nuns, prostitutes commonly volunteered for service in the plague hospitals. This required a brief shift in the social status of these women as they moved from their brothels to the pestilent walls of the lazzaretto. This paper will address the contribution that these resilient women made to maintaining the family economy and the significant positions women held in administering care, which have been overlooked in the scholarship. It will argue that by performing these essential activities, Bolognese women enjoyed an increase in physical but also social mobility, albeit short-lived.

The hunt for a scapegoat during an ancient pandemic

In the «History of the Infamous Column», Alessandro Manzoni recounts the trial against two alleged plague-spreaders held responsible for the pestilential contagion during the outbreak of bubonic plague that struck the north of Italy Between 1629 and 1631. After being accused by Caterina Rosa, health commissioner Guglielmo Piazza was accused of anointing walls with a dark substance to spread the pandemic. After police misinterpretation of alleged evidence and use of torture, Piazza indicated the local barber Giangiacomo Mora as the person who provided him with the poisonous substance. The trial continued with the same disregard for objective evidence and the truth. Still, with the support of torture, the inquisitors made both Piazza and Mora confess the non-existent guilt and pointed against five alleged accomplices in a groundless attempt to save their lives. The execution was carried out on the 2nd of August 1630; a pillar was erected in place of Mora’s house as an enduring memory of the castigation for those spreading pandemics. Manzoni’s work demonstrates the atrocious mistake perpetrated by those who abuse their power, acting against any form of human common sense and driven by fear. With a modern scientific and forensic eye, it is possible to analyze how the distress for an unknown pandemic led to the birth of superstitions and how an unfair trial can result from the interference of a social environment in investigation and judgment

Can CRISPR help control locust populations to reduce the impact of plague outbreaks?

Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) have been threatening food security since time immemorial and affecting human lives by destroying agriculture. Ravaging plague outbreaks are a reality and cause massive devastation across farmlands and pastures to this present day. Locust attacks and outbreaks globally affect vast areas and millions of people resulting in billions of dollars of economic loss. Although controlling the locust population through chemical pesticides is the primary method currently used, it unfortunately has not been highly effective in managing these outbreaks. Advancements in genetic engineering using CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) and its successful experiments on arthropods provide a huge opportunity that can be extended to design similar genetic behavioral changes in locusts. CRISPR has become one of the most accurate, quick, and cost-effective techniques that could potentially be very effective in managing locust populations by editing specific genes, particularly those responsible for uncontrolled reproduction during their gregarious phase. Experiments conducted on Mosquitos (Aedes aegypti) to silence microRNA-309 (miR-309), permitting stage-specific degradation of its ability to reproduce in their blood-feeding triggered phase indicates that these interventions could also be performed successfully on desert locusts. It should be possible to achieve similar results in female locusts by targeting the miR-309~6 gene cluster, impairing their ovarian development and potentially controlling locust populations.

An Affordable Self-Built Spectrometer for the Physics and Astronomy Classroom: A Useful Teaching Tool and Demonstration Instrument

The study of the electromagnetic spectrum, how light interacts with matter, and optical instruments such as lenses, mirrors, and gratings are important concepts in the Advanced Placement (AP) physics and introductory undergraduate physics and astronomy courses. The production, control, and analysis of light helps scientists to learn about the natural world. A spectrometer is an instrument that utilizes several components (lenses, mirrors, diffraction grating, or prism) that students commonly study in an introductory optics unit and can be helpful to demonstrate for students how light can be separated on the basis of wavelength. The authors designed and built a simple tabletop spectrometer. The layout is compact so as to make it easy to construct on a rolling cart to be easily transported for classroom demo or lab purposes. Additionally, we focused on keeping the spectrometer affordable, and discuss options for sourcing parts and scavenging for items in existing supplies. We constructed and tested two spectrometers, one at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania and one at Providence College in Rhode Island. Similar to Isaac Newton leaving Trinity College in 1665 during the bubonic plague outbreak, the final testing and building of these spectrometers was completed in the basements of the authors’ homes amid the COVID-19 shelter-at-home orders.

The Female Burden Visualized: Cinematic Representation of Women during Epidemics

The Female Burden Visualized: Cinematic Representation of Women during Epidemics

Differential mortality of infectious disease in Italian polities: COVID-19, past plague epidemics, and currently endemic respiratory disease.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has harshly impacted Italy since its arrival in February 2020. In particular, provinces in Italy's Central and Northern macroregions have dealt with disproportionately greater case prevalence and mortality rates than those in the South. In this paper, we compare the morbidity and mortality dynamics of 16th and 17th century Plague outbreaks with those of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across Italian regions. We also include data on infectious respiratory diseases which are presently endemic to Italy in order to analyze the regional differences between epidemic and endemic disease. A Growth Curve Analysis allowed for the estimation of time-related intercepts and slopes across the 16th and 17th centuries. Those statistical parameters were later incorporated as criterion variables in multiple General Linear Models. These statistical examinations determined that the Northern macroregion had a higher intercept than the Southern macroregion. This indicated that provinces located in Northern Italy had historically experienced higher plague mortalities than Southern polities. The analyses also revealed that this geographical differential in morbidity and mortality persists to this day, as the Northern macroregion has experienced a substantially higher COVID-19 mortality than the Southern macroregion. These results are consistent with previously published analyses. The only other stable and significant predictor of epidemic disease mortality was foreign urban potential, a measure of the degree of interconnectedness between 16th and 17th century Italian cities. Foreign urban potential was negatively associated with plague slope and positively associated with plague intercept, COVID-19 mortality, GDP per capita, and immigration per capita. Its substantial contribution in predicting both past and present outcomes provides a temporal continuity not seen in any other measure tested here. Overall, this study provides compelling evidence that temporally stable geographical factors, impacting both historical and current foreign pathogen spread above and beyond other hypothesized predictors, underlie the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had throughout Central and Northern Italian provinces.