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Medical History

The Top Ten Diseases of All Time

series edited by Stacey Smith?

Publisher
Les Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa/University of Ottawa Press
Initial publish date
Oct 2023
Category
History, Infectious Diseases, Social History
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780776640617
    Publish Date
    Oct 2023
    List Price
    $8.99

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 14 to 18
  • Grade: 9 to 12

Description

Infectious diseases have been with us for millennia and continue to pose a threat, from the irritation of flu season to the potential extinction of our species.
We instinctively fear them and alter our behaviour as a result. The reason we bury bodies six feet deep is because that was the depth that stopped plague transmission from the dead in the Middle Ages. Many religious practices, such as avoiding certain meats, were established because of foodborne disease transmission.
In The Top Ten Diseases of All Time, Stacey Smith? presents the top ten deadliest diseases and their effects on society, providing a wealth of information about the trajectory and terrible impact of each disease, and humanity’s reaction to these diseases throughout the millennia.
Did you know, for example, that:
-The medical symbol evolved from the worms wrapped around a stick, because that was the only way to remove Guinea worms from the body, so having a stick meant you were a doctor.
-Smallpox is the third-worst disease ever, yet it remains the only successfully eradicated human disease (but not for long!), thanks in part to a successful vaccine, in part to photographic recognition cards and in part due to helicopter-led forced vaccinations of whole villages in the former Yugoslavia. This brings up issues of individual rights versus public good that remain relevant today.
-Four diseases were targeted for eradication in the 20th century; the failure to do so led directly to the creation of the environmental movement.
-The inability of priests to explain how to stop the plague in the Middle Ages broke the back of the church as an all-powerful and all-knowing institution and led to colonialism and slavery.
The Top Ten Diseases of All Time offers a fascinating overview of the deadliest diseases to spread throughout the world, including HIV/AIDS, Spanish Flu, Measles, The Black Death, Smallpox and others.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Stacey Smith? is full professor at the University of Ottawa.
No, the question mark is not a typo, but rather how Stacey Smith? distinguishes herself in a world of Google searches. Though the name is unique in itself, it is Stacey’s research that truly marks her as a creative and innovative mathematical biologist.
Professor Smith? is well known for her research in an imaginary field: zombies. “By modelling zombies, we learn about the process of dealing with unfamiliar biology,” says Stacey. Stacey further explores the topic in her book Braaaiiinnnsss: From Academics to Zombies, and in Mathematical Modelling of Zombies, both published at the University of Ottawa Press.

Excerpt: The Top Ten Diseases of All Time (series edited by Stacey Smith?)

One of the big fears around disease is just how random it is. You can be going about your business, not doing anything wrong, and simply be cut down. This is a supremely uncomfortable feeling for most humans, so we expend a lot of energy attempting to impose control—or at least the illusion of control—over infectious diseases and our role in them. A great many religious practices evolved to combat diseases: pork was verboten in many religions for the very sensible reason that pigs carried diseases, so we needed to spread the message that pigs should not be eaten. Religion is a very good way to both spread and enforce a message to a vast number of people, including distant descendants. Our funeral practices—burying bodies six feet underground—are the result of the black plague, because six feet was determined to be the depth at which the virus could no longer be transmitted from a dead body. Monogamy was a great way of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases in a time before STI testing or antibiotics.

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