Module 7 Pandemic Essay

Crystal Chen

Patricia Andrews

World History II

19 April, 2020

                  Pandemics Worldwide

As of today, something the entire world has in common is that we are going through a pandemic. A pandemic is a global outbreak of disease. Pandemics happen when a new virus emerges to infect people and can spread between people sustainably. Because there is little to no pre-existing immunity against the new virus, it spreads worldwide. There have been many pandemics in our existence, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the flu pandemic, the black death, and more. What we are currently facing today is the COVID-19 coronavirus. The reason why this disease is so much more severe than the past pandemics is that it has the ability to spread faster than any other. As a result, more people are getting infected with the disease, rather than getting cured.

According to the W.H.O., an epidemic is explained as a regional outbreak of an illness that spreads unexpectedly. The C.D.C. calls it “an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected” in that area. In 2010, the W.H.O. defined a pandemic as “the worldwide spread of a new disease” that affects large numbers of people. The C.D.C. says it is “an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.” In other words, a disease has to affect many different countries worldwide in order to be considered a pandemic. If the disease only affects a certain geographical area, it would be considered an epidemic.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic began to peak in 2005 all throughout 2012. It was first identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976. HIV/AIDS has killed more than 36 million people since 1981. There are currently between 31 and 25 million people living with HIV, with a vast majority of those in the Sub-Saharan African, where 5% of the population is infected, around 21 million people. As awareness has grown, new treatments have been developed that make HIV more manageable, and many of those infected go on tolead very productive lives. Between 2005 and 2012, the annual global deaths from HIV/AIDS dropped from 2.2 million to 1.6 million.

A category two Flu pandemic, also known as the “Hong Kong Flu”, was caused by the H3N2 strain of the Influenza virus, a genetic offshoot of the H2N2 subtype. From the first reported case on July 13, 1968, in Hong Kong, it only took 17 days before the outbreaks of the virus were reported in Singapore and Vietnam, and within three months had spread to the Philippines, India, Australia, Europe, and the United States. While the 1968 pandemic had a low mortality rate of .5%, it still r4esulted in the deaths of more than a million people.

From 1346 to 1353, the Black Death ravaged Europe, Africa, and Asia, with an estimated toll between 75 and 200 million people. The plague most likely jumped continents via fleas living on the rats that frequently lived aboard on merchant ships. Ports being major urban centers at the time, were the perfect breeding ground for the rats and fleas, and thus the insidious bacterium flourished, leaving three continents completely infected. 

After being quarantined for so long, I’ve realized that many things are taken for granted. We often don’t realize how lucky we are for what we have until it's taken away from us. Such simple things as being able to go out, to work, go to school, socialize, have all been taken away from us. It is also both economically and financially harder on everyone because many employers have been told to close down businesses in order to prevent the spread of disease. This makes it harder for people to make money, especially those who are working to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table. Though things are not the same as before, it is important to know that health comes first and that we should be careful and do as we’re told; which is to stay home and distance ourselves. It may be tough during these times, but as long as we stick together and isolate ourselves, we will overcome this disease.

“Situation Summary.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Mar. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html.

“Outbreak: 10 of the Worst Pandemics in History.” MPH Online, www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/.