Coronavirus: Worst Pandemic in Modern History - Essay Sample

Introduction

In recent times, the coronavirus has emerged as the worst pandemic in modern history. Since it was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the disease has spread all over the world and infected more than 3 million people. The disease has also taken the lives of more than 200,000 people around the globe and the numbers seem to be increasing with each passing day. As a result of this pandemic, many governments all over the world have set up strict measures to curb the spread of the disease. However, this is not the first time such a pandemic has occurred in the world. Back in the 14th century, the Black Death that would later be referred to as the Bubonic plague swept across Europe, killing more than 50 million people globally. This article is aimed at comparing the two diseases to bring out their similarities and differences.

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The Black Death

The Black Death originated from Central Asia before it spread to Europe and Northern Africa. The plague was caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis which was found in fleas found on black mice. During that period, a long famine had affected the Asia region, and when ships docked from Europe, they climbed on to the vessel. In 1347 when ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina, most of the sailors on board were dead, and those that survived were very ill. The disease was characterized by black boils that oozed pus and blood. For the next five years, the disease would travel from China, Europe, India, Persia, Syria, and North Africa. It is important to note that these regions were mainly along the trade routes.

At first, people would have swellings on their groin or the armpits. Soon, these swellings would appear on other sections of the body and would have pus or blood seeping out of them. The host would then have unpleasant symptoms like fever, vomiting, terrible aches and pains, diarrhea, and later death. The disease mainly affected the lymphatic system that would cause the swelling of lymph nodes. Those that died had the infection spread to the lungs and the blood.

The Black Death was terrifyingly contagious. Some analysts indicated that it was spread by even touching the infected person's clothes. The disease was also very efficient in that it could affect a healthy person and kill the same individual in less than 12 hours.

It would later be found out that the disease was airborne, and that is why people were infected so quickly. Bites from infected fleas and rats also helped spread the disease. These two pests were common in medieval Europe. They were, however, common in the trading ships that traveled between Messina, Marseilles, and Tunis ports. Physicians at that time were overwhelmed because they did not know what they were dealing with.

The healthy could not do much apart from staying away from the healthy. Doctors refused to treat patients; priests no longer conducted mass, and shopping stores were closed. People fled the cities and went to the countryside. This move helped spread the disease to these places. It also affected animals like cows, goats, sheep, chicken, and pigs. There was a wool shortage after the death of sheep.

The plague spread twice, and the second time was worse than the first. However, governments were able to slow down the rate of infection by closing the ports and isolating the sailors until they were clear that they were nor carrying the disease. The origin of the word "quarantine" was as a result of the isolation of individuals from 30 to 40 days. The Black Death epidemic promoted the need for public health practices and modern sanitation practices that controlled the impact of this disease. Treatment was done during this period using antibiotics.

The Coronavirus

The coronavirus, on the other hand, is similar to the Black Death in several ways, but it is also different in various ways. The origin of the coronavirus is similar to that of the Black Death in that they both originated from Central Asia. The mode of transmission is different, but the two diseases managed to make their way to other continents in the days that followed. While the Black Death traveled through the water ports, the coronavirus was mainly spread through the airports that allowed people from China.

The coronavirus is different from the Black Death disease in that it is not airborne. It is, however, spread when a victim comes into contact with droplets from an infected person when they cough or sneeze. Surfaces are also used to spread the virus when the victim touches the surfaces with their hands and touch their faces. The disease is caused by the COVID- 19 virus of the corona family.

What followed was the closure of all the airports and borders as a way of preventing the movement of citizens. Like the Black Death, Europe and especially Italy and Spain have recorded high death numbers. Such countries are currently under lockdown, and there are no activities. Businesses all over the world have been paralyzed, and losses are currently being recorded in different sections in the world.

The United States is currently leading with more than 1 million infected people and over 50,000 deaths. With the closure of airports, very little is being exported, and the global economy is on the rocks. Only recently did the world witness a decline in oil prices as a result of very little demand for these commodities, given the fact that most places are under lockdown. The movement of people has also been restricted, including learning and businesses.