Epidemic is what? Causes of epidemics

The epidemic is the massive spread of the infectious disease in space and time, the level of which is several times higher than the statistical index registered on the territory of the lesion. Victims of the disease are many people, in a large scale, the effect of the infection has no boundaries and covers both small areas and entire countries. Each outbreak of the disease can differ radically from the previous ones and is accompanied by symptoms that depend on a number of factors. This climate, weather conditions, atmospheric pressure, geographical location, socio-hygienic conditions. The epidemic of the virus is characterized by a continuous process of transmission of the infectious agent from one person to another, which leads to a continuous chain of consistently developing infectious conditions.

Diseases that develop into an epidemic

The most dangerous diseases taking the form of an epidemic are:

• Plague.
• Cholera.
• Flu.
• Anthrax.
• Typhus.
• Ebola fever.

Black Death - Plague

The plague (otherwise "black death") is a terrible disease that destroyed whole cities, wiped villages and villages from the face of the Earth. For the first time the mention of the disease was recorded in the VI century: a dark cloud, it enveloped the land of the Eastern Roman Empire, killing hundreds of thousands of residents and their ruler Justinian. Coming from Egypt and spreading in the west and east - along the coast of Africa in the direction of Alexandria and through Syria and Palestine into the possessions of Western Asia - the plague from 532 to 580 struck many countries. His path of "black death" did by trade routes, along the coasts, unceremoniously sneaked into the depths of the continents. At its apogee, the plague epidemic reached Greece and Turkey in 541-542, and then into the territory of present-day Italy, France and Germany. At that time, the population of the Eastern Roman Empire was reduced by half. Each breath, a small fever, the slightest indisposition represented a danger and did not guarantee the awakening of the person in the morning.

The second plague of the plague epidemic repeated in the XIV century, striking all the European states. Five centuries of the reign of the disease claimed the lives of about 40 million people. The reasons for the unhindered spread of infection were the lack of basic hygiene skills, dirt and total poverty. Before the illness, both doctors and prescription drugs were powerless. For the burial of dead bodies, the territories were sorely lacking, so huge holes were dug, which filled hundreds of corpses. How many strong men, attractive women, adorable toddlers mowed a ruthless death, cutting off chains of hundreds of generations.

After unsuccessful attempts, doctors realized that it is necessary to use isolation of sick people from healthy people. Then, quarantine was invented, which became the first barrier to fighting infection. Special houses were built in which the patients were kept for 40 days under strict prohibition of entering the street. Arriving maritime transport was also ordered to stand on the roads for 40 days without leaving the port.

The third wave of the epidemic passed through China in the late 19th century, taking about 174,000 people in six months. In 1896, India was hit, which lost over 12 million people during that terrible period. Then followed South Africa, South and North America. The carriers of the Chinese plague, which carried a bubonic character, were ship and port rats. At the insistence of quarantine doctors, mooring ropes were supplied with metal disks to prevent mass migration of rodents ashore.

The terrible disease has not bypassed and Russia. In the XIII-XIV centuries, the cities of Glukhov and Belozersk were completely extinct, 5 residents were saved in Smolensk. Two terrible years in the Pskov and Novgorod provinces killed 250 thousand people.

The incidence of plague, although it went sharply to decline in the 30-ies of the last century, but periodically recalls itself. From 1989 to 2003 in the countries of America, Asia, Africa 38 thousand cases of plague were registered. In 8 countries (China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Republic of Tanzania, Madagascar, Peru, USA), the epidemic is an annual outbreak, repeated with persistent frequency.

Signs of plague infection

Symptoms:

• The general or common serious condition.
• Development of the inflammatory process in the lungs, lymph nodes and other organs.
• The high temperature is up to 39-40 ^° C.
• Strong headache.
• Frequent nausea and vomiting.
• Dizziness.
• Insomnia.
• Hallucinations.

Forms of plague

In addition to the above signs, with the skin-bubonic form of the disease at the site of the virus, a red speck appears, which turns into a vial filled with purulent-bloody contents. The pustule (vesicle) soon bursts, forming an ulcer. There is an inflammatory process with the formation of buboes in the lymph nodes, located close to the site of penetration of microbes of plague.

The pulmonary form of the disease is characterized by pneumonia (plague pneumonia), accompanied by a feeling of lack of air, a cough, and sputum discharge with a bloody admixture.

The intestinal stage is accompanied by abundant diarrhea, often with an admixture of mucus and blood in the feces.

The septic appearance of the plague is accompanied by significant hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes. It flows heavily and often has a fatal character, manifested from general intoxication of the body and internal organs lesions on days 2 - 3 (with pulmonary form) and 5 - 6 days (with bubonic form). In the absence of treatment, the lethal outcome is 99.9%.

Treatment

Treatment is carried out exclusively in special hospitals. If this disease is suspected, it is extremely necessary to isolate the patient, disinfect, disinfect and disinfect the room and all the things with which the patient had contact. To the locality, where the disease was found, quarantine is imposed, active vaccination and emergency chemoprophylaxis are carried out.

Influenza - "Italian fever"

For a long time habitual for the population became the diagnosis "flu". High fever, sore throat, runny nose - all this is not considered an abnormally terrible and is treated with medications and bed rest. It was completely different hundred years ago, when about 40 million people died of this disease.

The flu was first mentioned during the time of the great doctor of antiquity of Hippocrates. The fever in the patients, headaches and muscle pains, as well as high infectiousness, hurled hundreds of people in a short period of time, growing into epidemics, the largest of which covered entire countries and continents.

In the Middle Ages, outbreaks of influenza infection were not uncommon and were called "Italian fever", as patients mistakenly believed that the source of infection was solar Italy. Treatment, consisting of abundant drinking, infusions of medicinal herbs and honey bees, helped poorly, and doctors could not think up anything to save the patients. And the people of the flu epidemic was considered the punishment of God for the committed sins, and people prayed diligently to the Almighty in the hope that the disease will bypass their house.

Until the 16th century, an epidemic was an infection without a name, as doctors could not figure out the reason for its appearance. According to one of the hypotheses, it arose as a result of the alignment of celestial bodies in a special sequence. This gave her the original name - "influenza", which in Italian means "influence, influence." The second hypothesis is less poetic. The pattern of the infectious disease was revealed with the onset of winter months, determining the relationship of the disease with the resulting supercooling.

The modern name "influenza" arose after three centuries, and in translation from French and German means "grasping", determining the suddenness of its appearance: a person in almost a few hours is caught in the arms of a contagious infection.

There is a right to exist the version that the pandemic between epidemics the influenza virus conducts in the organisms of birds and animals. Doctors of the whole planet are in a state of tension and constant readiness for the next wave of the flu epidemic, which every time visits humanity in a mutated state.

The virus of our time - Ebola

At present, mankind has faced a new disease - Ebola fever, against which no means of struggle have yet been invented, since the new epidemic is a completely unfamiliar kind of disease. Beginning in February 2014 in Guinea, the infection spread to Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Mali, the United States and Spain.

The epidemic, whose causes - unsanitary conditions, poor hygiene, as well as religious beliefs, boldly overcomes the kilometers of territories. To the rapid spread of a contagious infection, the traditions of the local population, in which they kiss the deceased at farewell, bathe the dead body, bury it near the water, which leads to a continuous chain of infection of other people.

Preventive measures to prevent epidemics

Any outbreak of the disease epidemic does not happen simply and is the result of the relationship between man and nature.

Therefore, in order to avoid the lightning spread of new infections throughout the world, the following preventive measures are required:

• Clearing of territory, the water drain, water supply;
• Improving the health culture of the population;
• Observance of rules of personal hygiene ;
• Correct processing and storage of products;
• Restriction of social activity of bacilli carriers.