Monthly Archives: March 2018

To the Irish people, the potato was their whole life.  It was the main source of food for the nation and they were dependent on the healthy growth of the crop in order to maintain their survival.  Often times, they would eat potatoes for every meal.  Since it was so versatile, the people of Ireland were able to make many dishes and thrive off of the starchy matter found inside.  Until the blight occurred, this was their main source of living.

The Severity of the potato blight originated from the massive dependence the people of Ireland had on the crop.  If there were other food sources that they could grow, the blight may have not have had as big of an effect on them.  From 1845 to 1852, however, the blight was so bad across the entire nation that mass starvation occurred killing nearly 1 million people and causing many more to emigrate out of Ireland.

The blight was caused by a pathogen known as Phytophthora infestans which was believed to have originated from Mexico and made its way to Ireland via trade vessels etc.  Before the origin was known, many blames were placed on God, the soil, insects and many other means of trying to understand why the Irish people were so devastated. In addition to the pathogen, abiotic factors played a role such as rain washing the pathogen through the soil and infecting other plants, replanting healthy crops in infected soil, and so many more that caused it to spread so rapidly.

Due to the malnutrition caused by the lack of food, the Irish people were much more susceptible to infectious diseases since their immune systems were “down.” The people of Ireland became infected diarrheal diseases and cholera, which made them closer to death due to their susceptibility from malnutrition.  As mentioned before, this caused the citizens to flee the country and remove themselves from the horrible situation.

HR: The Powerpoint and films watched in class. No unauthorized aid was used.

Smallpox is a devastating disease that attacks people of all ages, races, cultures, and social classes.  It is highly contagious and extremely deadly.  In the 20^th century, it killed approximately 300 million people.

Smallpox is believed to have originated around 10,000 BCE when humans began to domesticate animals for personal use.  After the disease was developed, it began to infect humans from all cultures and eventually became an epidemic.  The first suspected Smallpox endemic region was believed to be Egypt around the time of 1500 BCE.  The evidence to date suggests that mummies had scarring on their faces from the disease, which may have caused them to meet their untimely death.

Within a few hundred years after the disease was seen in Egypt, smallpox began to appear in Asian and European countries, most likely from trade and travel.  However, the Crusades played a major role in the spread of the disease.  With individuals being infected and having no knowledge, they were easily able to spread it to their enemies while in close combat fighting their religious war.

In Central America, the Spanish explorers spread the disease to Amerindians and ravaged their population.  The Amerindians had never been exposed to such a disease, therefore, they had no possible antibodies for it and were subject to complete effects of the disease.  This allowed new explorers to quickly take over the areas because the native populations were dying off and they were doing so very quickly.  Since the majority of the native populations were dying off, a need arose for the import of a workforce that would not be susceptible.  To combat this issue, slaves from Africa were rapidly brought over to the New World because they had mostly been exposed to Smallpox in their home countries, therefore, they were immune.

When the British came to America, they also used the disease to get what they wanted. In 1763, the British used Smallpox as a way to purposefully kill off they native population in order to take over their homeland.  This was the first instance of Germ Warfare and was conducted by taking items from a known Smallpox clinic and infiltrating them into nearby tribes.  Once again, Smallpox made a significant dent in the native population.

Throughout the centuries, Smallpox was a disease that killed off many populations regardless of their background.  It was a nasty and practically unavoidable disease that destroyed homelands until its eventually eradication in 1980.

HR: The Powerpoint/Class Notes.  No unauthorized aid was used.

Syphilis (Treponema pallidum) is a venereal disease that causes lesions, rashes on the foot and hands, and ultimately cardiovascular and skeletal issues if untreated for a number of years.  It is easily transmitted by close sexual contact or through the mother upon the birthing process.  Many people may not know that they have contracted syphilis because it is known as the “great imitator,” meaning that it presents many signs and symptoms of other common diseases.

Syphilis was heavily studied in the early 20^th century in an experiment known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, which targeted African Americans in order to assess how the disease progressed over time.  The issue with this experiment, per the documentary, was that the patients were not informed that they were being given the disease and therefore, could not ask for treatment.  The purpose of this was so that they effects could be studied over a number of years.  It was unethical of the doctors because they would not allow the subjects to seek treatment and instead, they killed off the subjects to study how the disease effected lifestyles.

What does this experiment say to future experiments on certain ethnic groups around the country and around the world? Basically, it gives the idea that certain lives are expendable in the name of science.  That statement is blatantly untrue. It creates an image of governmental experiments that they are highly unethical and okay to be performed.  The Tuskegee experiment was an unfortunate occurrence in American medicine even though the outcome provided great insight as to how the disease progressed.  This experiment leaves reluctance for future generations across all minorities to want to participate because they will be unsure if they will be treated the same as white Americans in experimentation.

HR: The PowerPoint on Syphilis and the Documentary watched in class.  No unauthorized aid was used.