How Pandemics Have Changed The World Over The Years

 More than two-thirds of the world’s population is under the lockdown due to COVID-19 which has triggered panic across the globe, prompting travel bans, visa restrictions, and large-scale quarantines. Though it must be said that the death rate from COVID-19 is many times lower than the previous epidemics but one thing we should not forget is that the healthcare industry has changed drastically from the last pandemic which we had seen (i.e. the Spanish flu). ‘’’So, it is now a perfect time to look back and see how these pandemics shaped our present’’’:

Source - Google

• BLACK DEATH (1346-1353)- Deadliest of all pandemics till now, Black Death or Bubonic Plague.  This pandemic claimed more than 200 million lives across the world. It had the following effect on the different aspect of our society: -
• Medicine: Although the Black Death highlighted the shortcomings of medical science in the medieval era, it also led to positive changes in the field of medicine. As described by David Herlihy in The Black Death and the Transformation of the West, after Black Death how the human body was studied notably changed, becoming a process that dealt more directly with the human body in varied states of sickness and health.

Source - Google

• Architecture: The Black Death inspired European architecture to move in two different directions:
  • Greco-Roman styles
  • a further elaboration of the Gothic Style
• Religion: The Black Death hit the monasteries very hard because of their proximity to the sick who sought refuge there. This left a severe shortage of clergy after the epidemic cycle. Eventually, the losses were replaced by hastily trained and inexperienced clergy members, many of whom knew little of the rigors of their predecessors. New colleges were opened at established universities, and the training process sped up.
• Labor-saving innovations: The Black Death encouraged innovation of labor-saving technologies, leading to higher productivity. There was a shift from grain farming to animal husbandry. Plague also brought an eventual end to Serfdom in Western Europe.
• There was a change in the inheritance law. Before the plague, only sons and especially the elder son inherited the ancestral property. Post plague all sons, as well as daughters, started inheriting property.
• Due to the lack of laborers, the wages of laborers were increased and better tenure agreement was provided by the lords of the land.

• Spanish Flu (1918): A lethal virus that infected a third of the world's population and left upwards of 50 million dead. Though it was one of the major aftermaths of World War I, it claimed more lives of the soldier than WWI did. the major take away from this pandemic are:

Source - Google

• Researches showed that Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing can have positive effects on the economy, through limiting spikes in infections and avoiding mass casualties. And this lesson
  • Economic surveys showed that implementing NPI’s can reduce the adverse effects on the economy.

• HIV AIDS (1981-till now): Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which has claimed more than 35 million lives and it is still claiming lives. It is one of the problems of the world whose solution is yet to be found. This global pandemic affected our present in many ways, some of them are:
  • Economic Impact- HIV/AIDS affects the economics of both individuals and countries. Social discrimination with HIV positives is very common across the globe which results in abandoned from work subsequently decreasing Human capital which is one of the major factors which decides how the Economy of a country behaves.
  • At the household level, AIDS causes both losses of income and increased spending on healthcare. A study showed that households having a person with HIV/AIDS spent twice as much on medical expenses as other households. This additional expenditure also leaves less income to spend on education and other personal or family investment.

Source - Google

• Religion and AIDS: The topic of religion and AIDS has become highly controversial, primarily because some religious authorities have publicly declared their opposition to the use of condoms. Many religions also developed the false belief that AIDS could be cured by praying to god, which added more tension to the condition.
• H1N1 SWINE FLU (2009—2010): The 2009 swine flu pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1(Spanish flu was also caused by H1N1) which infected nearly 1.4 billion across the globe. The virus was unusual because 80% of the fatalities were in people younger than 65 years. There were many take-ups away from this outbreak. Some of them are listed below:
  • The research also indicated that the virus had been latent in pigs for several months prior to the outbreak, which suggested a need to increase agricultural surveillance to prevent future outbreaks.
  • The genetic information of the virus was out within 9 days of the initial detection of H1N1  so that countries could create diagnostic tests as soon as possible, which was again an example how our health care industry had revolutionized over the time
  • The 2009 H1N1 pandemic is a milestone that provides an opportunity to reflect on the groundbreaking work that led to the discovery, sequencing, and reconstruction of the 1918 pandemic flu virus
  • As our vaccine production was not so efficient so a new type of vaccine called influenza vaccine was introduced.

Source - Google

Yes, the time is not favorable, yes, the economy is slowing down, yes many have lost their loved ones, but one thing we should remember is that the world has recovered from tougher situations in the past. But one thing we can do is to stay united in this time and once this is over, we should all contribute with fight wholeheartedly against all the consequences which we face as an outcome of this virus.

By- Divyansh

(Dayatva Team Member)