Tag: Quarantine
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COVID-19 and Malta’s Black Plague epidemic of 1813
Victor Grech Pembroke, Malta Fisherman. Painting by Victor Grech Malta in the British Empire In the nineteenth century Malta had a population of around 91,000 people and was governed by the British Empire. Despite its small size and absence of natural resources, the island was an important Mediterranean crossroads, with a vital natural harbor…
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Unmasked
Kelley Zhao Stony Brook, New York, United States Illustration by Sherry Xiao. Provided by the artist. The lecture hall was freezing on the first day of medical school orientation. The room was buzzing with students meeting one another, and the familiar phrases floated around me as I took my seat. “Where are you from?”…
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The bubonic plague in Eyam
JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom William Mompesson In medicine most instances of outstanding acts of heroic human courage relate to individual patients or to their attendant doctors, nurses, and caregivers. Here is a unique example of the collective self-sacrifice of a tiny rural community, which probably saved the lives of thousands. The year…
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Epidemics from plague to Coronavirus
Michael Yafi Houston, Texas, United States Copper engraving of Doctor Schnabel [i.e Dr. Beak], a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome. From the Internet Archive’s copy of Eugen Hollände Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin: Medico-Kunsthistorische Studie von Professor Dr. Eugen Holländer. circa 1656. Throughout history humanity has faced many epidemics and pandemics that caused…
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Quarantining souls: The impact of plague village
Anahita Dua Wisconsin, United States Eyam church and graveyard where plague victims are buried. Infectious diseases have debilitated or ended more lives in history than any other illness. Quarantine, from the Italian quaranta, has been implemented since the fourteenth century as the cornerstone of a coordinated effort to control the spread of disease.1 Isolation is…
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Rethinking public health law and ethics – a regional perspective
Nadav Davidovitch Beer Sheva, Israel Public health emerged as an organized discipline during the 19th century with the goal of improving the health of a nation as a whole. While its initial interests centered on infectious diseases, sanitation, and hygiene, its current health scope has grown to include issues such as health promotion, the…