Pandemic COVID-19 Joins History's Pandemic Legion

With great apprehension, the world is now watching the birth of a novel pandemic already causing tremendous suffering, death, and disruption of normal life. Uncertainty and dread are exacerbated by the belief that what we are experiencing is new and mysterious. However, deadly pandemics and disease...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:mBio 2020-05, Vol.11 (3)
Main Authors: Morens, David M, Daszak, Peter, Markel, Howard, Taubenberger, Jeffery K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity
Clinical Science and Epidemiology
Communicable Disease Control - history
Conservation of Natural Resources
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control
Coronavirus Infections - transmission
COVID-19
History, 15th Century
History, 16th Century
History, 17th Century
History, 18th Century
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
History, Ancient
History, Medieval
Humans
influenza
International Cooperation
pandemic
Pandemics - history
Pandemics - prevention & control
plague
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control
Pneumonia, Viral - transmission
Public Health - history
SARS-CoV-2
Zoonoses - epidemiology
Zoonoses - prevention & control
Zoonoses - transmission
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Summary:With great apprehension, the world is now watching the birth of a novel pandemic already causing tremendous suffering, death, and disruption of normal life. Uncertainty and dread are exacerbated by the belief that what we are experiencing is new and mysterious. However, deadly pandemics and disease emergences are not new phenomena: they have been challenging human existence throughout recorded history. Some have killed sizeable percentages of humanity, but humans have always searched for, and often found, ways of mitigating their deadly effects. We here review the ancient and modern histories of such diseases, discuss factors associated with their emergences, and attempt to identify lessons that will help us meet the current challenge.
ISSN:2161-2129
2150-7511
DOI:10.1128/mbio.00812-20