Does Surviving The Plague Mean You Will Eventually Contract An Autoimmune Disease?

BY MIKE MAGEE This Fall, I am teaching a 4-week course on “How Epidemics Have Shaped Our World” at the President’s College at the University of Hartford. It is, of course a timely topic, but also personally unnerving as we complete a third year under the shadow of Covid-19. Where does one begin on a topic such as this? Yale historian, Frank M. Snowden, in his book “Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present”, made his intentions obvious. He would begin with the plaque. Why? His answer, “The word ‘plague’ will always be synonymous with ‘terror’”, and especially references: Virulence: “It strikes rapidly, causing excruciating and degrading symptoms, and, if untreated, achieves a high case fatality rate (CFR)…of at least 50%.” Speed: “Its progress through the body was terrifyingly swift. As a rule, the plague killed within days of the onset of symptoms, and sometimes more swiftly.” Target: “It preferentially targeted men and women in the prime of life (and)…left in its wake vast numbers of orphans, widows and destitute families.” Reaction: “…communities afflicted with plague responded with mass hysteria, violence, and religious revivals… people sought to assuage an angry god.” Scapegoating: “Frequently, vigilantes hunted down foreigners and Jews and sought out witches and poisoners.” One might also argue, as Snowden does, that the plague also launched the field of Public Health w...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Policy Public Health Autoimmune. Disease Mike Magee Plague Source Type: blogs