Lecture 5: Plague Part 2 & Syphilis Flashcards
Herd immunity
herd immunity for mumps etc. require whole pop. to be vaccinated that’s hwy we see sporatic breakouts
vaccines dont work b/c they require herd immunity; Herd immunity only works when most of the pop is vaccinated.
reat Plague of London: either make pop work to help, or keep peeps away from getting infected.
London had houses back from streets so they’d be away from the waste in the streets, fun fact
List the 4 humors
blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile
physicians and surgeons lanced buboes and bled black spots in attempts to cure plague victimes by releasing bad bodily humors
prohibited churches from keeping dead bodies on their premises during public assemblies or services
What did Londons Privicy council do in May 1666?
issued new plague orders
- banned the burial of future plague victims in parish churches
- enforced the use of quicklime at designated burial sites
- strictly porhibited opening graves less than one year after internment as a safeguard against the spread of infection
- carriers of the dead had to identify themselves and could not mix with the public
Why was quicklime used?
disinegrates body very quickly
very strong base
When did the plague subside and how did it impact Lodnon?
feb 1666 it had run its course
died out during the great fire that same year and never returned
central parts of london were rebuilt with wider streets to relieve crowding and better sewage systems to improve sanitation
Mortality rate of plague
14%(1 in 7) of all plague cases in the USA are fatal’
USA has an avg of 15 to 30 persons each year
globally the WHO reports 1000 to 3000 cases of plague every year
Where have plague cases been reported in the world?
everywhere but australia
What’ s the treatment for plague?
microscopic examination of the lymph gland blood and septum samples
streptomycin is an antibiotic of choice
gentamicin is used when streptomycin is not available
tetracycline and chloramphenicol are also effective
vaccine is not protective against aerosol in animal studies
can also use rodent control, using gas to kill (protecting food)
Why are “about 14% of all plague cases in the USA fatal”?
don’t find plague early enough to treat it soon enough
pnenmonic plague
the most severe form of the diseas and death occurs in approx half the cases
How did plague change society?
Great Fire of london changed how streets were made
- made us more clean which means less plague
Why look at social history?
- diseases cause changes in society
- social mores are modified or abnadoned in repsonse to a disease which results from a particluar societal practicel; sexual revolution during this time we realized we were passing on disease with sex
- hard science lacks societal focus
- the scientific field is seperated from the societal miliew in which research is conducted
- its interesting to see how certain disease have influenced or altered the spirt of the times
- ex; with COVID we are still wwearing masks at uni society is ,oving forward with it but science doesn’t deem it nessecary