Reflective Essay – Epidemics and Society

Throughout this course on Epidemics and Society, I have learned an incredible amount about human sickness throughout history. There is much to be said about the way epidemics have shaped human history. From the infamous to the mysterious, the Black Plague to Smallpox, we have studied them all in BI-245X. The VMI ePortfolio system has allowed me to store my papers as artifacts, where I can access them from whatever place, with whatever device, I need. I wrote seven papers throughout this class, detailing many subjects, such as the sedentary lifestyle, plague, ethics, smallpox, blight, tuberculosis, cholera, HIV/AIDS, and finally Ebola. Through all my writing and research, I have seen the way that humanity has been, and continues to be, shaped by disease.

My first artifact was about the sedentary lifestyle and its impact on modern humanity. In the genesis of man, people were far removed from each other as we all lived in nomadic tribes. In this day, any diseases that leapt from animals or the environment to humans were controlled within that individual tribe and not an existential threat to humanity, at worst, a tribe was wiped out. There was no vector for calamity such as described in my next artifact.

Second, I talked about the Plague, also known as the Black Death or the Bubonic Plague. The Plague, regardless of name, is caused by the parasite Yursinia pestis. The Plague was potentially the first deadly disease in human history to strike after we had forgone our nomadic ways and settled in large cities. Trade between civilizations allowed rats carrying the Plague to infect city upon city and gain its place in history as one of the greatest tragedies in history. During this period, we also saw the human response to death on this scale. Which is to say, the humans lost their minds. They proceeded to do the usual: try every crazy remedy imaginable, and blame the Jews. Today, Plague still exists, but with better medical technology and understanding, it does pose an existential threat as it used to.

Third, I wrote an artifact about the close relationship between infectious disease and ethics. The most basic treatment and prevention of infectious diseases is to segregate infected I people and keep them from spreading their disease to others. In doing so though, one must be able to control he masses. But, in controlling the masses, it is incredibly hard not to step on everyone’s personal liberties. In individualistic cultures such as the United States, this is nearly impossible to do without provoking some form of outrage. Also along this stem is the question of medical study. Some of the greatest atrocities such as the holocaust or the treatment of the Chinese at the hands of the Japanese during World War 2, allowed scientists to become untethered by such worries and thereby accomplish amazing research. In many cases, after the war we granted theses scientists pardons from their crimes in exchange for the knowledge gained therein. Clearly, such horrific treatment of human beings cannot become the norm, but it serves as a demonstration that ethical issues hinder medical research.

Next, I researched and wrote about Smallpox. Smallpox is famous as being the only purposefully eradicated disease we know of. Like other diseases in the medieval era, people came up with some incredibly weird treatments for the disease, but eventually a scientist appeared with a true cure. The first vaccine was thus born. In light of this discovery, people freaked out. They thought that accepting a vaccine was unnatural or unholy and that tampering with the body was contrary to the will of their god. Such notions still persist to this day, in the modern group known as “anti-vaxers”. I am of a mind with Albert Einstein in saying that human stupidity is boundless.

Fifth, and one of my favorites: the Irish potato blight. In the 18^th century, the Irish peoples persisted almost totally on potatoes. One day, the fungus-like organism known as Pytophtora infestans was introduced to the potato crop and killed one third to one half of it. Without their main food source, one of the greatest famines in history ensued. It is believed that the strain of p. infestans found its way from Mexico to North America and thence to Europe. Today, our potatoes are genetically bred to withstand the blight, but the Irish of old were not so lucky.

Tuberculosis, dubbed “The People’s Plague” was the subject of my sixth artifact. Tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It generally affects the lungs, and was the leading cause of death around 1650. Finally, it was cured when a viable treatment in the form of streptomycin was discovered. Because of antibiotic resistance, today the disease is treated with an array of 10 different drugs. It is no longer viewed as inherently deadly, but it does pose a threat to patients that are already immunocompromised.

Lastly, the king: Cholera. Cholera is aptly named, from the Greek, literally meaning “gutter of a roof”, because of the dysentery-like symptoms associated with it. Victims of Cholera experience muscle cramps, and diarrhea and vomiting to such an extent that they give up all of the hydration in their bodies and quickly die. It can be less than 24 hours from the first sign of symptoms all the way to death. It is caused by a bacterial infection in the small intestine, Vibrio cholerae, which release cholera toxin thereby producing symptoms.

In all of my research and writings, I have been delighted and horrified by the history of epidemics in human society. I am thankful for the use of the ePortfolio system, and its power to store and display my writings. Seeing all of the calamities laid out before me give me hope that we will be well prepared for the next one, and once again rise above it.