Up to now, no one knows where the plague that happened in Athens more than 2400 years ago came from, but what is certain is that the disease almost destroyed the whole city.
For more than a year, the citizens of Athens have lived in nightmares. Strong and healthy young people around them will suddenly have a high fever, and their throats and tongues will be congested, giving off an abnormal stench. Unfortunately, the patient sneezed, his voice was hoarse, and he had chest pain because of a severe cough.
The disease swept the whole city like a demon, and any oral or topical medicine was of no help. Finally, the doctor was infected and fell ill.
More than two thousand years have passed, and the horror of a well-built civilized city-state being destroyed by the plague is still dazzling. The disaster was recorded by a surviving scholar named Thucydides. Since then, the chronicle of human suffering from plague has been opened here.
Second, the fear of cholera: the beginning of disease research
183 1, no one can imagine that a cholera tide lasting for decades is coming. In the first wave of cholera bacteria attacks, at least140,000 people died in Britain, and some small villages were almost destroyed.
Cholera was described as "one of the most terrible plagues that destroyed the earth". This rhomboid bacterium, called Vibrio cholerae, is usually spread through unclean drinking water, and it can be stored on meat, milk, apples and other foods for several days.
Of course, the occurrence, spread and control of this terrible plague is a mystery to human beings at the beginning of the19th century. Every day, in English cities and villages, hearses constantly transport the dead to cemeteries. There was no activity in factories and shops, and people looked for medicine everywhere and struggled to the end. Religious leaders regard the spread of diseases as God's punishment for "human arrogance", and many people pray for forgiveness of their "sins". When a patient faces death after a few days or even hours from intestinal spasm to diarrhea to vomiting and fever, people can feel fear in addition to fear.
1832 After cholera subsided in Britain, the theoretical study of human diseases began a long journey after this disaster.
Third, rabies vaccine: there are tricks to fight the virus.
In the era when bacterial theory is dominant, the experiment of the famous French scientist Pasteur (1822- 1895) opened up a new road for the prevention and treatment of rabies. Pasteur found from practice that many rabies medulla oblongata extracts contain pathogens.
After the second injection of rabbits, these fluids with decreasing toxicity are injected into dogs, and dogs can resist rabies virus infection with normal strength.
1885 One day, a 9-year-old boy, Meister, was bitten by a mad dog and sent to Pasteur for rescue. After a moment's hesitation, Pasteur injected the child with an extract with extremely low toxicity, and then gradually injected the extract with more toxicity. Pasteur's method saved the boy's life. Pasteur invented rabies vaccine in 1889.
Fourth, the United States flu: extreme disaster notification
Looking through the American yearbook, you will be surprised to find that in 19 17 years, the average life expectancy of Americans is about 5 1 year. By 19 19 years, the average life expectancy is only 39 years, and the flu virus killed 500,000 Americans in one year.
At first, the doctor didn't even admit that it was the flu. No one would have thought that a common cold would mutate into a murderous monster. Influenza spreads so fast that almost everyone who has been exposed to the disease will get sick in about two days, and healthy young people will become the main target. The disaster has spread to almost the whole world.
19 18 flu, more than 25% of the population in the United States is infected, and the number of people who died of the disease worldwide is estimated to be 40 million.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) West Nile: the problem of killing mosquitoes
In the summer of 2002, the "West Nile" virus broke out again in the United States. During the four years from 1999 to 2002, this mosquito-borne disease claimed dozens of lives and infected more than 100 people.
West Nile virus was isolated from a woman in West Nile District of Uganda on 1937, and has appeared in temperate regions of Europe and North America in recent years.
Experts believe that only 1 person in every 200 people infected with West Nile virus may cause fatal diseases, but for the elderly, patients with chronic diseases and other people with weak immune systems, infection may cause encephalitis until death. Although the government has invested 3 million to 5 million yuan to kill mosquitoes, this ubiquitous threat is still enough to make people panic.
There seems to be no better way to control the outbreak of this virus except removing stagnant water, using mosquito repellent and wearing long-sleeved clothes to prevent infection. When the American government announced a serious outbreak of West Nile virus in 2002, people had to accept such a cruel reality. VI. Fighting against SARS