In the world of infectious diseases
a pandemic is the worst case scenario
A disease is officially declared a pandemic once it spreads beyond a country’s borders and infects multiple populations across the world.
History shows us a number of Pandemics that have occurred in the past
the earliest dating back to 430 B.C
Another thing that has remained consistent throughout history
is the waves of mistrust
in science.
Welcome to demystifying medicine
where we will be counting down the top 3 conspiracy theories
surrounding pandemics in history.
In this video we will be looking at different conspiracy theories about infectious diseases and
about infectious diseases and
debunking these theories to prevent consequences of disease-related conspiracies in the future.
Number 3, the Bubonic Plague.
The Bubonic Plague, also referred to as the “Black Death”
was believed to have originated in 1334 in China.
In the early 1340s, the Plague struck India, Persia, Syria, and Egypt
later arriving in Europe in 1347 when a ship of sailors
arrived at Sicilian docks, covered in black boils.
The offender, in this case, was bacteria, Yersinia pestis
traveling through the air
and the bite of infected fleas and rats.
Over the next 5 years
25 million European citizens died from infection.
During this time of uncertainty, there were
many conspiracy theories regarding the Plague’s origin.
In the fall of 1348, a theory
surrounding religion had emerged.
The rumor stated that the deaths were
due to Jewish individuals poisoning wells.
The plot was allegedly initiated by Rabbi Peyret
who dispatched poisoners across Europe.
A few Jewish people were arrested
in Switzerland and tortured for information.
One account, translated from Latin
was from Agimet of Geneva, a Jew who pled guilty
to poisoning the water supply in Venice.
Multiple confessions were extorted
and sent to other towns.
As a result, thousands of Jewish citizens
in over 200 towns were butchered and burnt.
In truth, no one knew how the Black Death
was transmitted, or how to prevent or treat it.
Historian Katherine Olson illustrated how people’s
fear of the disease resulted in the desire
to search for explanations elsewhere.
When in reality, the plague was
incredibly contagious, and was spread through
an elaborate web of trade routes.
Number 2: The Spanish Flu
The Spanish flu, also commonly known as the 1918 influenza pandemic
is a very important chapter in the book of historical pandemics.
The Spanish flu started in the spring of 1918,
near the last few months of the first world war
The pandemic lasted for almost two years and came in a series of three waves
Spring 1918, Autumn 1918, and Winter 1919.
The first case of the pandemic was detected in U.S. military personnel and
it spread to infect one-third of the world's population, about 500 million people,
and caused 50 million deaths.
The actual cause of the Spanish flu was an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin,
However, there were many conspiracy theories surrounding this pandemic.
The aftermath of the first world war resulted in an extreme mistrust of the Germans
claiming the pandemic started as a result of biological warfare.
A conspiracy sparked from Brazilian newspapers - that
the Spanish flu was spread around the world by German submarines.
The conspiracy was supported by a great number of people.
In author, Gina Kolata’s book regarding the Influenza Pandemic, she writes:
“The plague came in on a camouflaged German ship that had crept into Boston Harbor under cover of darkness and released the germs that seeded the city. […] There was an eyewitness, an old woman who said she saw a greasy-looking cloud that floated over the harbor and wafted over the docks.”
claiming that German boats that arrived on the East Coast of the U.S.
had released the infectious agent into the atmosphere.
The author also mentions rumors that Germans had snuck into the city
with vials of germs and released them in theaters and at rallies.
However, no solid evidence was found to support this conspiracy theory.
The pandemic made its way to America when* infected US military personnel returned home from the war
hence it spread amongst the community,
not because of alleged toxic agents released by Germans
Number 1, SARS COV-2
The SARS COV-2 is famously known as the COVID-19 pandemic,
which all of us are still currently living in
The COVID-19 virus was first located in Wuhan, China in December 2019
However, due to its highly infectious ability, it started to spread worldwide
causing the World Health Organization
to declare a global health emergency in January 2020
Thus far, this virus has globally affected almost 500 million citizens,
and has caused over 6 million deaths
Although it is challenging to pinpoint the main cause of COVID-19
many researchers have hypothesized that it originated from pangolins,
however birds, pigs, bats and other animals are also thought to carry the mutated virus,
making it dangerous to humans
This pandemic has not only changed our lives, but has encouraged the public to discuss any underlying theories
Due to a previous similar virus (Sars COV-1) in 2002,
there has been a lot of talk within the public about any revolving conspiracies
This sparked the public’s interest to try to find answers for their questions
In an online article *posted* by ​​Reuters, they mentioned that the COVID-19 patent has existed for years
Interestingly, two pre-existing patents were released that showed evidence of the coronavirus
This ultimately led the public to think that this virus was created beforehand
and was intentionally hidden by the government
Truthfully, the two patents do exist,
however, they're associated with the 2002 SARS-COV-1,
not the SARS-COV-2 that caused the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic
Many also believe that the COVID-19 coronavirus was a result of genetic manipulation
for the purpose of economical and political gain
In a journal article by Hakim in 2021,
he states that there seems to be a common theme about the SARS-COV-2 being “leaked”
from the famous lab in Wuhan working on the specific bat coronavirus
Many believe that the animals in the Wuhan laboratory escaped, or were smuggled,
and sold in the Huanan Seafood and Wildlife Market, which is where it all began
Although there are many claims being made,
they fail to be supported with proper evidence in order for it to be justifiable
Now here are some honourable, or should I say dishonourable mentions.
Cholera is a disease that is caused by a bacterium that has been causing pandemics since the 1800s.
There have been 7 cholera pandemics so far.
During the first cholera pandemic, there was great deal of racism and
xenophobia especially towards Indian citizens as the disease originated in India.
It was thought that the people who contracted cholera were dirty and that cholera was caused by miasma.
The truth however, is that cholera was caused by bacteria that were present in infected waters.
Swine flu was declared a pandemic in 2009.
It was caused by the H1N1 influenza virus.
In 2010, a German physician claimed that the Swine flu was declared
a pandemic by the World Health Organization so that private companies could gain a profit by selling vaccines.
Later that year, a review was conducted in the WHO’s response towards the Swine Flu pandemic.
It was found that they declared this flu a pandemic based on virological and epidemiological
criteria which are, and I quote, “hard to bend, no matter the motive”.
Do you agree with our list? Comment down below which conspiracy theory you found most interesting.
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