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The Bubonic Plague Devastating epidemics and infectious diseases took place in all periods of the mankind's history. The number of the victims at times considerably exceeded losses during military actions. Plague was one of the terrible general illnesses of the classical Middle Ages period. 3 enormous plagues are known in the history. The first is Justinian's plague (sixth century A. D. ), which, having left Egypt, has devastated almost all the countries of the Mediterranean and it was kept about 60 years.
Hundreds of people died daily in one Constantinople at the peak of epidemics in 542. The second and the most ominous one in history of the Western Europe is the Black Death (the middle of XIV century), a plague with connection of other illnesses. The third plague of the New time, begun in 1892 in India (where were lost more than 6 millions of people) and reflected an echo in XX a century on Azores, in South America and other corners of globe. The plague appears often in some areas and with known correctness and is rare in the others in the form of exceptions.
It is possible to infer that in the first case there should be the conditions favorable for the development of epidemic, and in the second there should be the conditions interfering to such development. The historical review of plague epidemics can serve as help in studying plagues epidemiology and give a plenty the instructions not less valuable, than the data extracted by clinical, pathologic-anatomic and bacteriological researches. The history of epidemic illnesses, being a part of medicines history, makes a part of civilizations history during the time. It is possible to judge the cultural degree of people from their attitude to general diseases. The below people stand in the cultural attitude, the more helpless they are in relation to a different sort of harmful external influences including epidemic illnesses, the more freely, on the other hand, these last extend among them. Looking through history of general illnesses since the most ancient times it is possible to notice, that these illnesses made terrible devastation during more remote epoch, become weaker in qualitative and in quantitative attitudes as approaching present time.
It is observed at comparison of epidemic illnesses action among the different modern people standing at different steps of a civilization. Epidemic, finding repulse at the civilized people meeting it on behalf of the representatives - doctors in sciences knowledge, carrying away from its environment only a small number of victims, during time free raging among below people standing in the cultural attitude, which are not possessing that knowledge, which are necessary for successful struggle against it. The reasons of epidemics were not really known during the Middle Ages. They were often connected with earthquake as the German historian of medicine Henry Gear approved, at all times coincided with devastation from general illnesses.
In opinion of others, epidemics are caused by miasmas - by " infectious evaporation's, which are generated by that rotting, which is made under the ground, and is taken out on a surface at eruption of volcanoes. The third thought is that development of epidemics depends on position, therefore sometimes; in searches of more astrological favorable place people left the struck cities that in any case lowered danger of their infection. The first scientifically proved concept of infectious illnesses distribution has been put forward by Italian scientist Dzhirolamo Frakastoro (1478 - 1533). He has been convinced of infections "seeds" specificity. According to his doctrine, there are 3 ways of the infectious beginnings transfer: at direct contact with the sick person, through the infected subjects, and by air on distance. Opening of the infectious diseases activators, begun in the end of the last century, in connection with successes of natural sciences, has made possible their studying and promoted in the further to liquidation of some infectious diseases.
Now we have set of data about various diseases. A plague is a sharp infectious disease of the person and animals. Concerns to quarantine illnesses. The activator is a plague microbe opened in 1894 by Japanese scientist S. Kitazato and French scientist A.
Jersenom. It is an egg-like, painted stick. (Sorokin). It grows well on usual nutrient mediums; it is sensitive to influence of physical and chemical factors and usual disinfectants. At temperature 100 perishes within 1 minute. Plague is the disease, described natural breeding ground, connected with a deserted, steppe and mountain landscape.
Epizootic process is maintained by the certain kinds of rodents in the center, however other rodents, hares, camels are dangerous to infection of people, etc. Epidemiological danger also increases at drift of a plague in synatropical population rodents (i. e. connected with the people), for example, rats. Infection of the people is transmitted (through fleas) and seldom contacts ways (mainly at section of sick animals). Infection from the people is taken through fleas.
A pulmonary pneumonia (the second pneumonic plague) occurs by distribution of airdrop by (similarly to a flu), there are cases of a primarily pulmonary plague, the extremely infectious for associates. (Borisov 286) These are the forms of bubonic plague. Depending on the mechanism of infection an entrance gate of an infection can be a skin, a mucous membrane of the top respiratory ways, an eye conjunctive. Bearers of plague microbes (in a nasopharynx) are found out. The incubator period at a plague is from 2 till 6 day.
The sharp beginning, a fever, and a strong headache characterize the clinical picture of illness, excitation, obscuring of consciousness. The temperature reaches 40, are observed hyperemia of the peoples skin (the increase of blood circulation in skin) and symptoms of brains environments defeat. Painful buboes of different localization appear at bubonic plague. At pulmonary one appear the symptoms of pneumonia. The plague proceeds, as a rule, hard.
Immunization (stamm ev) or a chemical plague vaccine is created to the treatment of plague or its prevention nowadays. (Borisov 289) At danger of infection it is spent antibiotics' prevention by streptomycin, which is applied at treatment of a plague alongside with against plague antibody. The way passed by mankind in struggle against mass general illnesses, was long and thorny - from initial supervision and fantastic representations about their reasons up to scientifically proved theories of their occurrence, development of preventive maintenance of infections means, methods of struggle against them down to liquidation of some of them. The bibliography: Borisov, L. B. , Medical microbiology, virology, immunology. "Medicine" 1994. (p. 286 - 289) Sorokin, T. S. Epidemic in Middle Ages. // The Medical assistant and the midwife, 2, 1988.
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Research essay sample on Bubonic Plague Infectious Diseases
