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Epidemics of the 19th century were faced without the medical advances that made 20th-century epidemics much rarer and less lethal. Micro-organisms (viruses and bacteria) had been discovered in the 18th century, but it was not until the late 19th century that the experiments of Lazzaro Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation conclusively, allowing germ theory and Robert ...
The germ theory of disease proposes that invisible microorganisms (bacteria and viruses) are the cause of particular illnesses in both humans and animals. [2] Prior to medicine becoming hard science, there were many philosophical theories about how disease originated and was transmitted.
The leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States is heart disease. [34] In Canada, heart disease is the second leading cause of death. In 2014, it was the cause of death for 51,000 people. [35] In Australia, heart disease is also the leading cause of death. 29% of deaths in 2015, had an underlying cause of heart disease. [36]
Infectious diseases: The death rate from infectious diseases--especially tuberculosis, influenza and pneumonia-- fell by 90% from 1900 to 1950. By the late 1940s, Penicillin was the major drug in use. [35] Chronic diseases: As infectious disease mortality declined, cardiovascular disease and cancer became leading causes of death. [36]
Epidemics were the cause of most government interventions. The early goal of public health was reactionary whereas the modern goal is to prevent disease before it becomes a problem. [15] Despite the overall improvement of world health, there still has not been any decrease in the health gap between the affluent and the impoverished. [16]
An 1831 color lithograph by Robert Seymour depicts cholera as a robed, skeletal creature emanating a deadly black cloud.. The miasma theory (also called the miasmic theory) is an abandoned medical theory that held that diseases—such as cholera, chlamydia, or the Black Death—were caused by a miasma (μίασμα, Ancient Greek for 'pollution'), a noxious form of "bad air", also known as ...
The diseases ranged in severity, some being catastrophic and others being not quite as deadly. One of the most prominent plagues during this period was the Antonine Plague (165–180 AD). The people of Imperial Rome often had a very small amount of insight regarding the diseases that were overtaking their society.
Widespread non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer are not included. An epidemic is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time; in meningococcal infections , an attack rate in excess of 15 cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks is considered ...