During discussions and analyses of infectious diseases, the impact of infectious diseases on society, and concurrently, the effect of society on infectious diseases, offers a glimpse of the overall impact of emerging and re-emerging diseases. When an infectious disease arises in a society, government officials, leaders, scientists, and citizens must work together to accomplish a single goal- to eliminate the disease or reduce its influence. What a society does in response to the disease and how the disease impacts the society once it is controlled or eliminated can indicate the strengths and weaknesses of a society as well as their ability to confront future problems. In this reflection, I will use previous artifacts to determine the effect of infectious diseases and develop a grander reflection based on my previous studies of infectious diseases.
When an infectious disease is discovered, it engenders a response from society. The impact of infectious diseases on societies date back to the ancient Egypt and classical Greece and the effect of a disease on society can come in many forms, including negative impacts such as dramatic loss of life and resources; and positive impacts such as the arrival of new cultural habits, sanitation practices, hygiene. Almost every pandemic is characterized by a great loss of life- the Irish Potato Blight led to the death of over 1 million people, the loss of three quarters of the potato crop, and reduced diets of over half the Irish population who depended on the potato (Artifact 6- The Importance of the Potato). The Black Death killed up to 60 percent of Europe’s population in the 1300s (Artifact 3- The Impact of the Black Death- A Historical View of the 700-Year-Old Plague). In current times, disease decreases resources and raises food prices. Subsequently, a decrease in jobs and increase in poverty allows disease to spread more quickly in some countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela (Artifact 1- The Transformation of Diseases and Implications for the Future) (Artifact 7- The People’s Plague: Tuberculosis on the Rise).
Although disease can bring death and pain to countries, it can also bring awareness to important problems in countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela. The lack of hygiene and sanitation practices not only can result in disease but also a threat on public health. Upon reflecting on The Continued Eradication of the Guinea Worm Disease, one of the greatest, positive impacts of a disease such as the Guinea worm disease is the awareness it brings to prevention methods and the simple sanitation practices used to combat it. Additionally, in countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Haiti, simple ideas such as using personal protective equipment when handling human excrement, women using the indoor toilet, and using proper water collection and storage methods makes a huge difference in the spread of cholera (Artifact 8- The Facts and Factors About Cholera). Issues such as women’s rights in India and using personal protection do not fall under the direct scope of infectious diseases, however because of their influence on society, these issues are confronted. In India, campaigns for the right of women to use toilets have gained attention and in Venezuela new efforts to provide water filters, latrines, soap, and clean wells offer solutions to these problems. Through the suffering, death, and many other problems that infectious diseases introduce, the awareness and problem-solving that it also causes offers a sliver of hope when confronting diseases.
The relationship between society and disease is not a one-way relationship and includes the effect of the society on disease, in addition to the impact of the disease on a society. The Black Plague, as reviewed in the The Impact of the Black Death- A Historical View of the 700-Year-Old Plague, is one example of the impact that society, culture, and war can have on the influence of a disease. The living conditions and general health of a population help indicate the severity that a disease could have- Europe’s conditions were cramped, poor, and lacked hygiene and sanitation practices. Proper waste management was not established until the 1800s; in the 1300s, London’s privies emptied into cellars and cesspools and misguided treatment methods such as Flagellants did more harm than good. War spread the disease through poor soldier living conditions and stories of catapulting diseased bodies into the city of Kaffa (Artifact 3- The Impact of the Black Death- A Historical View of the 700-Year-Old Plague). During the Irish potato famine, disease was spread faster by the massive emigration of Irish to North America. The additional disease and malnutrition, such as diarrheal diseases, cholera, and tuberculosis, that the potato disease caused exacerbated the threat of the potato famine (Artifact 6- The Importance of the Potato).
The opposite effect of society on a disease is a scientific response that cures diseases, raises awareness, and decreases its spread. The discovery of over 335 new diseases in the last decade and the astounding fact that over 75 percent of emerging cases come from animal sources indicates the diversity of these diseases. In response, scientists have launched countless experiments, developed water sanitation methods for some of the poorest countries in the world, and have even created a pathogen-resistant potato in 2017 (Artifact 6- The Importance of the Potato) (Artifact 2- The Effect of Emerging Diseases- A Reflection). Due to the extensive work of scientists, smallpox was announced eradicated in 1980, there are less than 20 cases of Yersinia Pestis in the US annually, and awareness of simple prevention methods for cholera, the guinea worm disease, and tuberculosis help reduce the affliction rate in many countries. The response of society to disease has proven effective at reducing the prevalence of these diseases.
Upon reflection of previous artifacts of infectious diseases, the relationship between disease and society is a dynamic bond that brings many positive and negative products such as the eradication/near-eradication of diseases, low-cost solutions to prevent diseases, and awareness of issues besides the disease. The influence of disease on society can bring death to millions, cause additional diseases, and result in starvation, but the society will always respond to the disease positively. Scientists and world leaders work together to solve the problem, activists fight other issues, and some diseases become obsolete as a result. This dynamic relationship has existed for thousands of years; it has traveled across continents with the Irish and Chinese and it has impacted war and been spread through trade. Through my reflection on the course, this relationship has remained constant and offers the greatest lesson point for a student. The world is constantly changing and one of the only ways to combat it is to reflect on the past and this fluid, established relationship between society and disease.