4 ms·

What improvements do we have to survive against the plague compared to in the past? I'm curious to understand the difference

LarsDu88 1y ago
Antibiotics. Yersenia pestis is a bacteria that can be killed by most antibiotics
- bigiain 1y ago
  And we have better Plague Masks these days. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/plague-doctors-beaked-masks-coronavirus https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/plague-do... (I am making popcorn, in preparation for the inevitable administration schism and late night TweetRants between the "ban masks at all costs because what about her emails" and "profiteer from selling plague masks to the CDC under contracts bought with campaign donations" factions. I predict red plague masks with MAGA logos.)
- Yeul 1y ago
  I am currently watching a TV show about a 21st century Japanese doctor who is sent back in time to 19th century Edo and it is fascinating how the answer to so many diseases is basically "penicillin". How the hell humanity managed to last so long without antibiotics is mindboggling.
Beijinger 1y ago
I think the plague has not been an issue since it is very sensitive against penicillin. What is concerning is more the speed from diagnosis to death in this case.
- carl_dr 1y ago
  Sadly, it could be as simple as the guy didn’t run up tens of thousands of dollars of healthcare, and left it too late to get treatment.
brianpan 1y ago
Not that complicated- germ theory and sanitation. The best way to survive an illness is to avoid getting it in the first place.
maxlybbert 1y ago
The Black Death occurred when European medicine (at least for diseases) was still rudimentary. Plague doctors had pleasant-smelling herbs in their masks because that seemed like a reasonable defense against the disease. Leaches and bloodletting were common treatments ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism ). Later, there was something of a legend regarding Four Thieves Vinegar ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_thieves_vinegar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_thieves_vinegar ). But they did eventually connect plague outbreaks to rats, and killed the rats in the name of public health. Today we have very effective antibiotics, better knowledge of the body to offer supportive care, and even knowledge about how the plague is transmitted so we can have more effective public health actions.
- otabdeveloper4 1y ago
  > Plague doctors had pleasant-smelling herbs in their masks because that seemed like a reasonable defense against the disease. The implied condescension hits hard after the Covid masking debacle.
  - muzani 1y ago
    I guess they linked germs to bad smells (e.g. miasma) and figured out good smells might counter them. It's a pity they hadn't invented essential oils at the time.
    - otabdeveloper4 1y ago
      At least that makes some logical sense. Covidian sympathetic magic (wear a strip of cloth over your mouth but not your nose to appease the germ gods) doesn't.
      - schwartzworld 1y ago
        Who was advocating for leaving your nose out? We used to make fun of the morons we saw doing that. Frankly, I’m sad masks aren’t still more of a thing. I don’t want to wear one all the time, but if you’re sick and need to be in a public place, throw one on out of consideration for your peers.
thaumasiotes 1y ago
I have read that southern Europeans often have a much harsher response to illness (higher fever / skin going bright red / that kind of thing), and that this is speculated to be a leftover from the Black Plague. I can't find a reference to it now, though, and if there was a term for the exaggerated response I don't remember it. It's possible that my memory confused a harsher fever response to normal illnesses with familial mediterranean fever: https://www.genome.gov/news/news-release/genomic-variation-causing-common-autoinflammatory-disease-may-increase-resilience-to-bubonic-plague https://www.genome.gov/news/news-release/genomic-variation-c... https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-black-death-shaped-human-evolution https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-bla...
deleted 1y ago
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LarsDu88 1y ago

Antibiotics. Yersenia pestis is a bacteria that can be killed by most antibiotics

bigiain 1y ago
And we have better Plague Masks these days. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/plague-doctors-beaked-masks-coronavirus https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/plague-do... (I am making popcorn, in preparation for the inevitable administration schism and late night TweetRants between the "ban masks at all costs because what about her emails" and "profiteer from selling plague masks to the CDC under contracts bought with campaign donations" factions. I predict red plague masks with MAGA logos.)
Yeul 1y ago
I am currently watching a TV show about a 21st century Japanese doctor who is sent back in time to 19th century Edo and it is fascinating how the answer to so many diseases is basically "penicillin". How the hell humanity managed to last so long without antibiotics is mindboggling.

Beijinger 1y ago

I think the plague has not been an issue since it is very sensitive against penicillin. What is concerning is more the speed from diagnosis to death in this case.

carl_dr 1y ago
Sadly, it could be as simple as the guy didn’t run up tens of thousands of dollars of healthcare, and left it too late to get treatment.

brianpan 1y ago

Not that complicated- germ theory and sanitation. The best way to survive an illness is to avoid getting it in the first place.

maxlybbert 1y ago

The Black Death occurred when European medicine (at least for diseases) was still rudimentary. Plague doctors had pleasant-smelling herbs in their masks because that seemed like a reasonable defense against the disease. Leaches and bloodletting were common treatments ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism ). Later, there was something of a legend regarding Four Thieves Vinegar ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_thieves_vinegar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_thieves_vinegar ). But they did eventually connect plague outbreaks to rats, and killed the rats in the name of public health. Today we have very effective antibiotics, better knowledge of the body to offer supportive care, and even knowledge about how the plague is transmitted so we can have more effective public health actions.

otabdeveloper4 1y ago
> Plague doctors had pleasant-smelling herbs in their masks because that seemed like a reasonable defense against the disease. The implied condescension hits hard after the Covid masking debacle.
- muzani 1y ago
  I guess they linked germs to bad smells (e.g. miasma) and figured out good smells might counter them. It's a pity they hadn't invented essential oils at the time.
  - otabdeveloper4 1y ago
    At least that makes some logical sense. Covidian sympathetic magic (wear a strip of cloth over your mouth but not your nose to appease the germ gods) doesn't.
    - schwartzworld 1y ago
      Who was advocating for leaving your nose out? We used to make fun of the morons we saw doing that. Frankly, I’m sad masks aren’t still more of a thing. I don’t want to wear one all the time, but if you’re sick and need to be in a public place, throw one on out of consideration for your peers.

thaumasiotes 1y ago

I have read that southern Europeans often have a much harsher response to illness (higher fever / skin going bright red / that kind of thing), and that this is speculated to be a leftover from the Black Plague. I can't find a reference to it now, though, and if there was a term for the exaggerated response I don't remember it. It's possible that my memory confused a harsher fever response to normal illnesses with familial mediterranean fever: https://www.genome.gov/news/news-release/genomic-variation-causing-common-autoinflammatory-disease-may-increase-resilience-to-bubonic-plague https://www.genome.gov/news/news-release/genomic-variation-c... https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-black-death-shaped-human-evolution https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-bla...

deleted 1y ago

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