The mention of the plague brings to mind the yellowed pages of history textbooks and stuffy middle school classrooms. It was within that beat up cover and worn pages that the most serious outbreaks of disease seemed contained to the Crusades across Europe and in Rome during the Middle Ages and the Spanish colonies in 1545 – anywhere other than in our present day society[1]. With the advancements of vaccinations and modern day medicines, a present day plague like those of Antonine, Justinian, and the Black Death seemed impossible[2]. That was, until, the consideration of how susceptible humans’ modern lifestyle have made them to catching and rapidly spreading such diseases.
Common infectious diseases capable of starting an epidemic still circulate through our present society. They include measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, and smallpox[3]. They are crowd diseases that spread quickly and efficiently in a variety of ways, including direct and indirect contact. The development of vaccinations, the emphasis on herd immunity, the overall communal awareness of good hygiene; all of these can help resist getting sick, but is it enough to stand against the growing trends in our society that make epidemics more likely to occur?
Globalization is one factor in particular that is thought to advance our country’s role in the international arena, but poses a serious domestic threat because of the public health implications[4]. With a greater social emphasis on travel as a means to experience other cultures, aid in humanitarian efforts[5], enlighten the individual, and increase power projection of the state, the United States has thousands of citizens traveling abroad. While travel is beneficial, such experiences increase the probability that an individual is exposed to a plethora of diseases their immune system was not prepared for. They return to the United States carrying such diseases, and as they reimmerse themselves into the highly compacted living conditions of cities and the constant social interactions that come with such, quickly grant the disease access to thousands of victims. This was proved an accurate process with the influenza of 1918 and could very well be repeated with present day endemics such as the West Nile virus, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika[6].
While we have practices put into place such as hand washing reminders, strategically placed hand sanitizer stations, and sneeze guards at Subway, is this enough to combat the serious threat that our sedentary lifestyle brings? As we continue to centralize in cities and experience the benefits of globalization, are we paving the way for a new epidemic to take hold? Will we recognize this threat and take it into consideration when creating our immigration and environmental/climate policies, or will remain aloof and comfort ourselves by educating students of the historic plagues, and not the ones that can come from our own back yard?
[1] Provided historical articles, Canvas
[2] Powerpoint: Price of being sedentary
[3] Powerpoint: Price of being sedentary
[4] “Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health”
[5] “Politics and Economics”
[6] Influenza documentary and handout, Powerpoint: Price of being sedentary