The History of Pandemics By Nicholas LePan
The History of Pandemics
Pan·dem·ic /panˈdemik/ (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world.
As humans have spread across the world, so have infectious diseases. Even in this modern era, outbreaks are nearly constant, though not every outbreak reaches pandemic level as the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has.
Today’s visualization outlines some of history’s most deadly pandemics, from the Antonine Plague to the current COVID-19 event.
A Timeline of Historical Pandemics
Disease and illnesses have plagued humanity since the earliest days, our mortal flaw. However, it was not until the marked shift to agrarian communities that the scale and spread of these diseases increased dramatically.
Widespread trade created new opportunities for human and animal interactions that sped up such epidemics. Malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, smallpox, and others first appeared during these early years.
The more civilized humans became – with larger cities, more exotic trade routes, and increased contact with different populations of people, animals, and ecosystems – the more likely pandemics would occur.
Here are some of the major pandemics that have occurred over time:
Note: Many of the death toll numbers listed above are best estimates based on available research. Some, such as the Plague of Justinian, are subject to debate based on new evidence.
Despite the persistence of disease and pandemics throughout history, there’s one consistent trend over time – a gradual reduction in the death rate. Healthcare improvements and understanding the factors that incubate pandemics have been powerful tools in mitigating their impact.
Wrath of the Gods
In many ancient societies, people believed that spirits and gods inflicted disease and destruction upon those that deserved their wrath. This unscientific perception often led to disastrous responses that resulted in the deaths of thousands, if not millions.
In the case of Justinian’s plague, the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea traced the origins of the plague (the Yersinia pestis bacteria) to China and northeast India, via land and sea trade routes to Egypt where it entered the Byzantine Empire through Mediterranean ports.
Despite his apparent knowledge of the role geography and trade played in this spread, Procopius laid blame for the outbreak on the Emperor Justinian, declaring him to be either a devil, or invoking God’s punishment for his evil ways. Some historians found that this event could have dashed Emperor Justinian’s efforts to reunite the Western and Eastern remnants of the Roman Empire, and marked the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Luckily, humanity’s understanding of the causes of disease has improved, and this is resulting in a drastic improvement in the response to modern pandemics, albeit slow and incomplete.
Importing Disease
The practice of quarantine began during the 14th century, in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Cautious port authorities required ships arriving in Venice from infected ports to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing — the origin of the word quarantine from the Italian “quaranta giorni”, or 40 days.
One of the first instances of relying on geography and statistical analysis was in mid-19th century London, during a cholera outbreak. In 1854, Dr. John Snow came to the conclusion that cholera was spreading via tainted water and decided to display neighborhood mortality data directly on a map. This method revealed a cluster of cases around a specific pump from which people were drawing their water from.
While the interactions created through trade and urban life play a pivotal role, it is also the virulent nature of particular diseases that indicate the trajectory of a pandemic.
Tracking Infectiousness
Scientists use a basic measure to track the infectiousness of a disease called the reproduction number — also known as R0 or “R naught.” This number tells us how many susceptible people, on average, each sick person will in turn infect.
Measles tops the list, being the most contagious with a R0 range of 12-18. This means a single person can infect, on average, 12 to 18 people in an unvaccinated population.
While measles may be the most virulent, vaccination efforts and herd immunity can curb its spread. The more people are immune to a disease, the less likely it is to proliferate, making vaccinations critical to prevent the resurgence of known and treatable diseases.
It’s hard to calculate and forecast the true impact of COVID-19, as the outbreak is still ongoing and researchers are still learning about this new form of coronavirus.
Urbanization and the Spread of Disease
We arrive at where we began, with rising global connections and interactions as a driving force behind pandemics. From small hunting and gathering tribes to the metropolis, humanity’s reliance on one another has also sparked opportunities for disease to spread.
Urbanization in the developing world is bringing more and more rural residents into denser neighborhoods, while population increases are putting greater pressure on the environment. At the same time, passenger air traffic nearly doubled in the past decade. These macro trends are having a profound impact on the spread of infectious disease.
As organizations and governments around the world ask for citizens to practice social distancing to help reduce the rate of infection, the digital world is allowing people to maintain connections and commerce like never before.
Editor’s Note: The COVID-19 pandemic is in its early stages and it is obviously impossible to predict its future impact. This post and infographic are meant to provide historical context, and we will continue to update it as time goes on to maintain its accuracy.
Update (March 15, 2020): We’ve adjusted the death toll for COVID-19, and will continue to update on a regular basis.
Camp Constitution thanks Visual Capitalist for granting us permission to repost this article. Here is a link to the organization https://www.visualcapitalist.com
The Chain Message Calling for the 28th Amendment and Article V Convention is full of misinformation
Over the past ten years or so, well-intentioned people have been sending me a chain message on Facebook promoting a proposed 28th Amendment, and calling for an Article V Convention to get it passed. It is also sent in an E-mail, and on various websites. It usually suggests that readers of the message send it to 15 or 20 of their contacts. I am unable to track the message’s origin, but it has been around for a number of years. I urge folks not to fall for it.
The message claims that governors of 35 states have suites against the U.S. government for imposing unlawful burdens upon their states. The truth is that governors do not file suits-state attorney generals do for numerous reasons. The message also claims that members of Congress can retire after one term and that their children and staffers don’t have to pay their student loans. These are outright false.
While the proposed amendment sounds enticing, promoting an Article V Convention which, if called, may likely rewrite or restructure our Constitution. My suggestion to folks who get the message is to reply with some info on the dangers of an Article V Convention. Camp Constitution has plenty of resources on the subject including this flyer: https://campconstitution.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/COS-Facts-Flyer-112017.pdf and this interview of Robert Brown:
This is one of the most recent versions of the message:
“Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the Citizens of the United States …”
This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.
Congressional Reform Act of 2017
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office. And, no more perks go with them.
2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as ALL Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (i.e. NO MORE INSIDER TRADING!!!).
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts by and for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor and privledge NOT a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work … not get all kinds of freebies.
Just hold your finger down then hit forward and send it to everyone you know. Let’s help get the country straightened out
Please read proposed 28th amendment
Please Read, and forward. This won’t take long to read!
28th Amendment, 35 States and Counting.
It will take you less than a minute to read this. If you agree, please pass it on. It’s an idea whose time has come to deal with this self-serving situation:
OUR PRESENT SITUATION !
Children of Congress members do not have to pay back their college student loans.
Staffers of Congress family members are also exempt from having to pay back student loans.
Members of Congress can retire at full pay after only one term.
Members of Congress have exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed, under which ordinary citizens must live.
For example, they are exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment.
And as the latest example, they have exempted themselves from Healthcare Reform, in all of its aspects.
We must not tolerate an elite class of such people, elected as public servants and then putting themselves above the law.
I truly don’t care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent, or whatever. The self-serving must stop.
Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon their states. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention.
If each person that receives this will forward it on to 20 people, in three days most people in The United States of America will have the mess”
Tell the folks sending you the above that they need to stop forwarding this erroneous message and say no to an Article V Convention.
Neighborhood Home Schooling Co-Ops? by Iron Mike
As hysteria-driven Progressive Governors are ordering schools closed; – some like California for the remainder of the school year,….have we been given an opening to finally break the government / teacher union stranglehold on our kids’ minds?
Home schooling works! Those who have tried it know you can move quickly through the daily curriculum in a couple of hours, – it really doesn’t take all day. You can schedule the work when it suits you, – no bells to start and end classes, – and your kids don’t need to raise their hands to visit the bathroom.
OK, – so not every parent is equipped to do the job. But living somewhere near you is a person fully equipped and able to handle your kids, and a few more from your neighbors.
Even better, – older kids can make great teachers of younger kids.
There are lesson plans and materials ready to download. All the History and Geography lessons you’ll ever need are lurking just inside your computer. Let them out!
You can even include God in your lessons,….and nobody can stop you! They won’t even know!
In their zeal to prove they can exert absolute control over your lives, the Godless Progressives have just given you the freedom to teach and educate your kids as you see fit!
You can even teach gun safety and marksmanship!
This article originated at Rapid Republican Blog https://rabidrepublicanblog.com written by Mike “Iron Mike” Farquhar.
The Weekly Sam: The New Revolution in Education
This video contains presentations by Sam Blumenfeld, Otto Scott, and Rev. R. J. Rushdoony:
It is available in MP3 from the Sam Blumenfeld Archive:
Greening Our Way to Infection The ban on single-use plastic grocery bags is unsanitary—and it comes at the worst imaginable time by John Tierney
The COVID-19 outbreak is giving new meaning to those “sustainable” shopping bags that politicians and environmentalists have been so eager to impose on the public. These reusable tote bags can sustain the COVID-19 and flu viruses—and spread the viruses throughout the store.
Researchers have been warning for years about the risks of these bags spreading deadly viral and bacterial diseases, but public officials have ignored their concerns, determined to eliminate single-use bags and other plastic products despite their obvious advantages in reducing the spread of pathogens. In New York State, a new law took effect this month banning single-use plastic bags in most retail businesses, and this week Democratic state legislators advanced a bill that would force coffee shops to accept consumers’ reusable cups—a practice that Starbucks and other chains have wisely suspended to avoid spreading the COVID-19 virus.
John Flanagan, the Republican leader of the New York State Senate, has criticized the new legislation and called for a suspension of the law banning plastic bags. “Senate Democrats’ desperate need to be green is unclean during the coronavirus outbreak,” he said Tuesday, but so far he’s been a lonely voice among public officials.The COVID-19 virus is just one of many pathogens that shoppers can spread unless they wash the bags regularly, which few people bother to do. Viruses and bacteria can survive in the tote bags up to nine days, according to one study of coronaviruses.
The risk of spreading viruses was clearly demonstrated in a 2018 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health. The researchers, led by Ryan Sinclair of the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, sent shoppers into three California grocery stores carrying polypropylene plastic tote bags that had been sprayed with a harmless surrogate of a virus.
After the shoppers bought groceries and checked out, the researchers found sufficiently high traces of the surrogate to risk transmission on the hands of the shoppers and checkout clerks, as well as on many surfaces touched by the shoppers, including packaged food, unpackaged produce, shopping carts, checkout counters, and the touch screens used to pay for groceries. The researchers said that the results warranted the adaptation of “in-store hand hygiene” and “surface disinfection” by merchants, and they also recommended educating shoppers to wash their bags.
An earlier study of supermarkets in Arizona and California found large numbers of bacteria in almost all the reusable bags—and no contamination in any of the new single-use plastic bags. When a bag with meat juice on the interior was stored in the trunk of a car, within two hours the number of bacteria multiplied tenfold.
The researchers also found that the vast majority of shoppers never followed the advice to wash their bags. One of the researchers, Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona, said that the findings “suggest a serious threat to public health,” particularly from fecal coliform bacteria, which was found in half the bags. These bacteria and other pathogens can be transferred from raw meat in the bag and also from other sources. An outbreak of viral gastroenteritis among a girls’ soccer team in Oregon was traced to a resuable grocery bag that had sat on the floor of a hotel bathroom.
In a 2012 study, researchers analyzed the effects of San Francisco’s ban on single-use plastic grocery bags by comparing emergency-room admissions in the city against those of nearby counties without the bag ban. The researchers, Jonathan Klick of the University of Pennsylvania and Joshua Wright of George Mason University, reported a 25 percent increase in bacteria-related illnesses and deaths in San Francisco relative to the other counties. The city’s Department of Public Health disputed the findings and methodology but acknowledged that “the idea that widespread use of reusable bags may cause gastrointenstinal infections if they are not regularly cleaned is plausible.”
New York’s state officials were told of this risk before they passed the law banning plastic bags. In fact, as the Kings County Politics website reported, a Brooklyn activist, Allen Moses, warned that shoppers in New York City could be particularly vulnerable because they often rest their bags on the floors of subway cars containing potentially deadly bacteria from rats—and then set the bag on the supermarket checkout counter. Yet public officials remain committed to reusable bags.
A headline on the website of the New York Department of Health calls reusable grocery bags a “Smart Choice”—bizarre advice, considering all the elaborate cautions underneath that headline. The department advises grocery shoppers to segregate different foods in different bags; to package meat and fish and poultry in small disposable plastic bags inside their tote bags; to wash and dry their tote bags carefully; to store the tote bags in a cool, dry place; and never to reuse the grocery tote bags for anything but food.
How could that possibly be a “smart choice” for public health? Anyone who has studied consumer behavior knows that it’s hopelessly unrealistic to expect people to follow all those steps. If the Department of Health actually prioritized public health, it would acknowledge what food manufacturers and grocers have known for decades: disposable plastic is the cheapest, simplest, and safest way to prevent foodborne illnesses.
Instead, leaders in New York and other states are ordering shoppers to make a more expensive, inconvenient, and risky choice—all to serve a green agenda that’s actually harmful to the environment.
The ban on plastic bags will mean more trash in landfills (because paper bags take up so much more space than the thin disposable bags) and more greenhouse emissions (because of the larger carbon footprints of the replacement bags). And now, probably, it will also mean more people coming down with COVID-19 and other illnesses.
John Tierney is a contributing editor of City Journal and a contributing science columnist for the New York Times. This essay originally appeared in City Journal city-journal.org.
The Coronavirus Explained
Camp Constitution recently hosted a presentation by Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, and in a segment of his presentation, he addressed the Coronavirus. Dr. Ayyadurai stressed the need to build up the body’s immune system something that few, if any, of the “experts” recommend.
Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai holds four degrees from MIT, is a world-renowned systems scientist, inventor and entrepreneur. He is a Fulbright Scholar, Lemelson-MIT Awards Finalist, India’s First Outstanding Scientist and Technologist of Indian Origin, Westinghouse Science Talent Honors Award recipient, and a nominee for the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
WORLD PREMIERE: UNSUSTAINABLE – The UN’s Agenda for World Domination, Part II – “The Reality” a James Jaeger Film
This is a news release we received from James Jaeger, director of UNSUSTAINABLE: The UN’s Agenda for World Domination. A portion of this documentary was filmed at our 2019 annual family camp and features nine Camp Constitution instructors.
WORLD PREMIERE: UNSUSTAINABLE – The UN’s Agenda for World Domination, Part II – “The Reality”
a James Jaeger Film
Free Screening Wednesday, March 25, 2020 – 5PM to 9 PM Pacific (8-12 Eastern)
PART II – “THE REALITY” TAKES A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS THEORIES ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, BIODIVERSITY, REWILDING, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, REGIONALIZATION, PROPERTY RIGHTS and GUNS RIGHTS.
Hollywood, CA, March 10 /CNW/ – The world premiere for “The Reality,” the second installment of UNSUSTAINABLE: The UN’s Agenda for World Domination, will start Wednesday 25 March 2020 at 5PM Pacific (8PM Eastern). Current and prospective single-family home owners, farmers, real estate investors, historic property owners and impoverished and/or disarmed people around the world are invited to join UN skeptics and UN apologists to screen Part II of this 2-part mini series.
The Premiere will be at selected theaters, TV stations and as announced but can also be screened for a limited period of time at www.UNsustainable.us/premiere
DVDs for Part I & II can be pre-ordered now at www.MoviePubs.net. DVDs will be shipped after the Premiere. Screen Part I free at www.HomeVideo.Net
UNSUSTAINABLE Part I & II — in association with MATRIX ENTERTAINMENT and OATH KEEPERS.org — is 76 minutes long. Synopsis, trailer, expert clips available at the official website at www.UNsustainable.us
UNSUSTAINABLE features Agenda 21 experts TOM DEWEESE, ROSA KOIRE, MICHAEL SHAW, DEBBIE BACIGALUPI, LORD CHRISTOPHER MONKTON, WILLIE SOON and Constitutional experts EDWIN VIEIRA, KRISANNE HALL, JOHN McMANUS, G. EDWARD GRIFFIN, PASTOR CHUCK BALDWIN, STEWART RHODES, DAVID KOPACZ and others. UNSUSTAINABLE is award-winning filmmaker, JAMES JAEGER’s, 10th conservative political documentary. Produced by Matrix Productions, previous films include CULTURAL MARXISM, MAINSTREAM, MOLON LABE, GOOD GUYS WITH GUNS and Telly Award-winning FIAT EMPIRE featuring RON PAUL.
UNSUSTAINABLE traces the history of the UN and its “unifying principles” that have led to Agenda 21 and its spawns, Agenda 2030 and the Green New Deal under the banner of “Sustainable Development.” Is the UN using the environment and climate change to “justify” what guest expert, PAT BUCHANAN, calls an embryonic World Government? That’s “The Theory.” Now watch “The Reality.”
— Your Coverage of this Premiere at www.UNsustainable.us/premiere is Invited —
— Watch Trailer and Part I for free at www.HomeVideo.net —
— Get DVD of Part I & II at www.MoviePubs.net —
— For information regarding this release contact Lorraine Sterling or Diana Zoppa at
zoppa@zoppamediagroup.com
The Weekly Sam: A Testimonial for “Alpha-Phonics” from South Africa
The Sam Blumenfeld Archives is being used by thousands of people in the United States and the world. Last Saturday March 7, Camp Constitution hosted an all day seminar at the Grace Bible Church in Wappingers Falls, New York. One of the presenters, Shiona Van Wyk, Skyped in from Johannesburg, South Africa to give her testimonial. Last year, Shiona found the archives on-line and successfully used Sam’s Alpha-Phonics to her special needs class. The students or learners did not make any progress in two years, but after two weeks of using Alpha-Phonics, 15 of the 17 students became good readers. She has set-up a Facebook page and plans to set-up literacy centers around the country. Please watch her testimonial :
A link to the archives: https://campconstitution.net/sam-blumenfeld-archive/
250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre Wreath Laying Ceremony
Camp Constitution was on hand at the wreath laying ceremony that took place in Boston’s Granary Burial Ground, the final resting place for the victims of the Boston Massacre which include Crispus Attucks, a sailor and runaway slave; James Caldwell, a 17-year-old sailor; Patrick Carr, a leather worker; Samuel Gray, a rope-maker; and Samuel Maverick, also 17 years-old, The ceremony was hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) with President General Denice Doris VanBuren on hand. The Henry Knox Color Guard of the Massachusetts Sons of the Revolution also participated.
The Weekly Sam: Exposing the NEA and Its hypocrisy
Sam Blumenfeld dedicated his life to warning the people of the United States that there was a plan to deliberately dumb-down our nation. And one of the vehicles being used to do that is the National Education Association. He published The NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education and went on a nation speaking tour to promote the book. Here he appears on a Christian radio station and is interviewed about his book. 46:25 into the video, Sam mentions how the NEA extolls the use of phonics in Cuba but will not allow it in the United States. Bernie Sanders also praised Cuba’s literacy program but fails to mention that the communists use phonics.
Copies of Sam’s book in PDF are available here: http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/Books/NEA-Trojan%20Horse%20In%20American%20Education.pdf