Questions tagged [disease]
The history of negative abnormal conditions caused by either pathogens or dysfunctions of an animal or plant, as well as the macro-level reactions to diseases and their societal impacts.
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What was the expected survival time for a person infected with syphillis in the 1930s?
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study had the following survival rates for the participants as of:
In the study, investigators enrolled a total of 600 impoverished African-American sharecroppers from Macon ...
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Why did epidemic disease spread only from Europe to America and not both ways in the Columbian Exchange? [duplicate]
In learning about the history of the Americas you often hear about how pre-columbian civilizations operating at a highly advanced level were devastated by epidemic diseases like smallpox, to the point ...
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What infectious diseases were Native Americans exposed to before Columbus?
More specifically, what infectious diseases were Native Americans exposed to that were not a result of endemic spread in wild animals in the Americas? This would be a list of diseases that were ...
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How did the plague doctors get rid of the infections on their gear?
Back in the day with "plague doctors", they had this scary-looking but apparently effective protection gear with the beak and gloves and hat and cape and whatnot.
Apparently, it was enough ...
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During the Indian removal were native Americans fed rotten food and taken through diseased areas?
In 1993 Stannard wrote a book called American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World: Columbus and the Conquest of the New World. In it, Stannard mentions (page 124) the Indian marches where they ...
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What is the earliest record of smallpox inoculation in Turkey?
In 1721, Lady Mary Wortley Montague introduced the practice of smallpox inoculation to England. She had learned about the procedure in Turkey, where she had already survived the illness as well as ...
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When did COVID-19 hit the international news?
I have been having a discussion about when COVID-19 first hit the international news. I think it was around Christmas 2019, up to a couple of days after new year. This is based on my recollection of ...
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How were smallpox vaccines enforced in the US?
Smallpox was eradicated in 1977 thanks to a massive worldwide vaccination campaign. But how did the US government enforce the smallpox vaccine, given that you needed 90+% vaccinated to achieve herd ...
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Are there historical examples of countries using pandemics as an excuse for banning protests?
Australia was recently in the news for restricting the right to protest during a surge in COVID cases:
Hundreds of fines have been issued and dozens charged in Sydney after
anti-lockdown protesters ...
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Have any historical pandemics actually originated in the United States?
I've heard of a few pandemics, such as the Spanish Flu, the Cholera Outbreaks in the 19th century, and, of course, our current pandemic ;).
Something that struck me as odd was that none of these ...
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How did plague affect military management in 17th century North Africa?
I’m doing some research on Morocco’s history during the early 17th century, and more specifically the chaos leading to the fall of the Saadians Dynasty. One of the main causes, if not the main, is the ...
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Was the Native American population already decimated before settlers and conquistadors arrived in America?
My understanding (which I am stating in case you find it errant) is that while there were no domesticable animals in the Americas, the East had a history of many plagues received from livestock ...
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Can it be justified that an economic contraction of 11.3% is "the largest fall for more than 300 years"?
Today the UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said "The OBR forecast the economy will contract this year by 11.3%, the largest fall in output for more than 300 years." This seems to me to be a very ...
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Any studies on how much crime was done during pandemic? How it affected society after
I would like to know during pandemics if any studies were done about crime before and after said pandemic? Did it go up did it go down? How did they deal with those they caught and did they put into ...
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Did anyone at the time blame the Great Plague on rats or fleas?
The Great Plague of London occurred in 1665, before the advent of the germ theory of disease. Nonetheless, people back then had some general notion that the disease could be spread through social ...