Today we are going to discuss dysentery and its effects throughout human history.
Imagine that you are a concerned parent watching over your sick child. You wait with apprehension
to see if your child will be among the 30% that will fail to survive their first year.
Or, you could simply be a normal person going about your life who suddenly falls ill and,
as you realize from having watched other people suffer the same fate, your bowels will continue
to leak fluids until you die. Even royalty were not immune to the ravages of this undignified
disease.
Dysentery, also commonly known as diarrhea, is often a source of humor for children in
the western world today. But since the development of agriculture, it has been a very deadly
condition for much of the human race. Parts of the world today with poor sanitation still
see a lot of fatalities due to this preventable illness. Many well known historical figures
have also met their untimely demise because of it.
Technically, dysentery is an inflammatory disease of the intestine, most specifically
the colon. Diarrhea and abdominal pains are always present as symptoms. Sometimes fever
is present as well. Usually it is caused by some type of pathogen, such as bacteria, viruses,
or parasites. Most cases of dysentery in the modern world are due to bacteria which multiply
under favorable conditions. These favorable conditions are often the result of poor sanitation
practices.
In instances where dysentery is so severe it is life threatening, victims will often
pass a liter of water or more per hour. With modern medical assistance, a patient can be
given fluids to treat dehydration until the disease has run its course. When modern medicine
is not available, however, the end result is very uncomfortable and very deadly.
The most common cause of this disease throughout history is thought to be a bacteria of the
genus Shigella. Although data is insufficient to provide exact counts, estimates suggest
that dysentery caused by this bacteria killed 34,000 children under the age of 5 in 2013.
In that same year, 40,000 people over the age of 5 also died as a result of this disease.
The amount of death in modern times can seem insignificant compared to the distant past.
For instance, in medieval times, and in antiquity as well, almost one third of all children
died of dysentery before reaching one year of age.
The poor sanitation that resulted from warfare could also encourage conditions for this horrible
ailment to thrive. In the US Civil War, dysentery caused about 45,000 deaths in the Union Army
and around 50,000 in the Confederate Army. The nonexistent sanitation practices often
contaminated drinking water, which then infected anyone who consumed it.
Archaeologists and medical researchers have both tried to understand how it affected settlements
in the past and, more importantly, how the disease spread. Unfortunately, the data can
sometimes provide little clarity. Quite often, dysentery in the past occurred in outbreaks
that would come and go without a clear cause.
Helene Castenbrandt is one historian who has focused on this issue. She has proposed that
dysentery is epidemic in nature and has complex links that go beyond just simple sanitation.
She published her doctoral thesis which suggested this theory while attending the University
of Gothenburg in Sweden. She focused on Sweden in the 1700s and 1800s as 90 percent of all
deaths in the country were due to dysentery when outbreaks were happening.
Castenbrandt noted that “The disease had detrimental effects, but the geographical
differences were significant. For example, 90 percent of all deaths in a parish could
be due to dysentery in some years, while nearby parishes were left practically unaffected”.
She focused on how the disease affected Sweden from 1750 to 1900, and specifically tried
to determine how local and regional differences over time might have affected the outbreaks.
The result, as she expressed, was that her study “points to dysentery as very epidemic
in nature. The disease struck communities extremely hard at times. It flared up quite
irregularly and the patterns of transmission differed from one outbreak to the next”.
The rather unsatisfying conclusion of her research efforts is that no single cause can
be given for why dysentery outbreaks occurred or do occur.
Genomic researchers recently sequenced DNA of the Shigella dysenteriae bacterium that
is known to cause the disease to see if they could determine how it originated and how
it spreads. Historians previously thought that European travelers brought the microorganism
back home after visiting South America, Asia, or Africa. The latest findings from genomic
analysis, which were published in Nature Microbiology, came to a much different conclusion.
More than 300 samples were collected from all over the planet, with efforts to find
samples starting in the early 20th century. The latest specimens were found in 2011. Laboratory
analysis indicated that the shigella bacteria in all of the samples have their origins in
18th century Europe.
Rather than Europeans bringing this disease home, it would appear that they were the ones
spreading it all over the world.
Also disturbing is the fact that at least 1% of the bacteria have developed antibiotic
resistance. Thus, even in modern times, certain strains of this bacteria can still kill people.
According to study coauthor Francois-Xavier Weill, “This bacterium is still in circulation,
and could be responsible for future epidemics if conditions should prove favorable—such
as a large gathering of people without access to drinking water or treatment of human waste.
This study highlights the need for an effective vaccine, which will be crucial for controlling
this disease in the future in view of the reduced efficacy of antibiotics.”
The fate of those living in the Pacific Islands during the 18th century serves as an example
of what could happen in the future if the worst case scenario were to become reality.
The Pacific Islands were the last isolated population to be exposed to European diseases.
And dysentery was the one that ravaged the islands the most.
The wave of dysentery that washed over the Pacific islands usually arrived via transmission
from other natives a few months or years before Europeans arrived in large numbers. So most
of the accounts concerning how the disease affected the islanders is provided by Europeans
who saw the aftermath.
One instance is documented from 1803 to 1804, when a dysentery outbreak on the Hawaiian
island of Oahu killed around 5000 people. James Jarves, an American who wrote of the
event well after the fact, stated that “It occasioned a great mortality—so much so,
that the natives state, the living were not able to bury the dead”. He additionally
described the symptoms of dysentery as a process during which “thin discharges like sour
starch water flowed frequently from the bowels”.
The reconstruction of reports from the Pacific exploration era indicate that anywhere from
one-fifth to one-third of the population succumbed to the disease. Although the microorganism
responsible for the infection is known, researchers still could not determine why this particular
population had a high mortality rate.
A common theory about the spread of diseases from Europe to other populations in the Pacific
and the Americas is that the native populations did not have the necessary immunities to survive
European pathogens. However, studies of a very isolated Amazon River Amerindian group
that were isolated from other human groups for over 10,000 years had a surprising result
which brings the immunity theory into question. These Amazonian people had never used antibiotics,
yet had the most complex microbiome ever reported in humans. Natural variability and effects
of the environment may play a more critical role than researchers previously considered.
Although the spread and effects of dysentery are still in question, what is certain is
that this affliction has killed many throughout history. Let us look at some notable historical
figures that have died from it.
Edward the I of England, also known as Edward Longshanks, lived from June 1239 to July 1307.
Edward was in middle of a military conflict with the Scots, when he caught dysentery.
His condition deteriorated rapidly. When servants arrived on his final day, and lifted him up
to try and feed him, he died in their arms.
Erasmus was a Dutch philosopher and Christian Humanist who is considered to be one of the
greatest Renaissance scholars. He was born in October 1466 and died in July 1536. He
was already old and losing his strength in 1536. But dysentery came on suddenly, and
he died very quickly. Reportedly his last words were “Dear God”.
Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain and explorer during the Elizabethan era. He
was, regrettably, also a slave owner and a pirate. Drake was born in 1540 and died in
1596. Drake died off the coast of Panama after participating in an attack to capture the
largest port of the country, which failed. He came down with dysentery after the attack,
and never recovered. Drake was buried at sea in a lead lined coffin. Divers continue to
search for his final resting place, but it has never been found.
Nathaniel Bacon was a colonist in Virginia who is most well remembered for being the
instigator of Bacon’s Rebellion. He was born in 1647 and died in October 1676. Bacon
had a disagreement with the governor of Virginia concerning taxes. Bacon also wanted to exterminate
the natives as frustrated that the English government did not agree. The result was that
Bacon and his forces burned Jamestown to the ground. Before English naval reinforcements
could arrive, Bacon passed away from dysentery. Thus, the entire movement he created came
to a sudden end.
The last unfortunate victim we will explore is Michel Vieuchange. He was born in 1904
and died in 1930. Michel was a French adventurer most well known for his travels in Africa.
He was the first European to visit the ruins of Smara, an ancient walled city located deep
in the Sahara desert. In September of 1930, Michel set out to explore areas of North Africa
that were mostly unknown to Europeans. He did not speak any of the local languages,
but managed to complete his goal and returned to civilization in November. A few days after
completing his journey, Michel was so weakened from dysentery that he died.
For a great deal of human history, dysentery was not a major concern. It could certainly
appear due to parasites or other illnesses, but small populations that lived hunter gatherer
lifestyles usually did not have to worry about large epidemics. As with many other things
that are unpleasant about history, the discovery of agriculture helped promote the spread of
fatal diseases.
European societies in particular managed to live in crowded unsanitary conditions which
in turn allowed bacteria that caused dysentery to thrive. As it travelled the world, it found
new populations to infect, and to destroy. By the 19th century, there was no place left
on Earth where humans were not at risk of dying from dysentery.
As our exploration into individuals throughout history has shown, even in the 20th century
people continue to die from this affliction. Relatively recently, between 1969 and 1972,
a dysentery outbreak in Central America killed 20,000 people. Thanks to the development of
antibiotic resistance, these types of outbreaks might become more frequent and more difficult
to control in the future. Furthermore, the fact remains that researchers do not have
a complete understanding of how dysentery is able to suddenly appear and disappear in
communities.
Dysentery is an ancient calamity that could very easily become a plague upon modern humans.
Can modern technology create new strategies to cure and control this deadly affliction?
Or is dysentery an unfortunate and inevitable consequence of the human experience? Please
let us know what you think the comments.
Thank you for watching Bad Things In History.