Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today
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as opportunistic pathogens, 112
religious mania and, 106-109
in rural populations, 103-104
fungi, antibiotic properties of, 113
future predictions, 252-256
G
Galen, 87-88
garlic, 178-179
Ge Hong, 19
genes. See human genome
genetic defects in ancient societies, 35
genetic diversity
group survival and, 52-53
importance of, 110
genetic engineering of diseases, 139
genetic mutation. See mutation
genetic resistance to disease. See resistance to disease
germ warfare. See biological warfare
German measles, 214
Germany, biological warfare in World War I, 136
germs. See disease
Gibbon, Edward, 182
glanders, 23, 136
global mortality rate, 238
global warming. See climate change
goats, diseases from, 21
gods. See ancient religious beliefs
gonorrhea, 145
decline of, 147
milder version of, 41
rates of, 144
transmission method, 38
Goths, 89
Great Plague of 1665, 189-190, 223
Great Plague of Justinian, 86, 90-91, 231
Greece, Persian invasion of, 123
Greeks
ancient religious beliefs, 171
disease knowledge of, 19
Greenland, 211-212
group resistance, 52-53
Guangchuang, 146
Gummer, John, 102
H
H1N1 flu, 199, 244
Haitian revolt, 123
hallucinations from ergot poisoning, 106-109
Han Empire, fall of, 185-186
Hansen’s disease, 31
Hantavirus, 238
transmission method, 30
virulence of, 239-240
Harappa (Indus Valley city), 74-76
Hathor, 170
healing, Christianity and, 181-185
health benefits of religion, 163-164
heart disease, 35
Henry VIII (king of England), 189
hepatitis, varieties of, 233
hepatitis B, 51, 149
hepatitis C, resistance to, 51
herd resistance, 52-53
hereditary disease
in ancient societies, 35
as side effect of disease resistance, 5, 54-56
herpes, 145
in ancient Greece, 62
carriers of, 47
relationship with skin infections, 149
transmission method, 16
Hery, Thierry de, 146
Hippocrates, 19, 145, 178
Hispaniola, 199
historical beliefs about infectious disease, 36-37
history of influenza epidemics, 243
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Gibbon), 182
Hittites, scapegoat ceremony, 176
HIV-1, 151
HIV-2, 151
HIV/AIDS, 7, 22, 143
annual mortality rate, 238
as bloodborne venereal disease, 149
deaths from, 14
future predictions, 253
immune system suppression, 234
mortality rate, 152
mutation of, 234
opportunistic diseases and, 60, 112, 251-252
origin of, 22, 150-151
public health and, 156-158
religious reaction to, 155-156
resistance to, 51, 158-159, 227
as RNA virus, 62
susceptibility to, 159
transmission methods, 38, 151-153
worldwide spread of, 151-153
Homer, 27, 177
homosexuality, religious views on, 157-158
Hong Kong flu of 1968, 243
household hygiene, food poisoning and, 96-97
housing (institutional), disease in, 129-130
Huang Lao, 186
Huang Ti, 186
Hudson Foods, 94
human diseases, animal diseases versus, 22-24
human genome
effect of epidemics on, 4-6, 53, 56
mutations in, 235
resistance to disease in, 227-228
Human Immunodeficiency Virus. See HIV/AIDS
Huns, 1-4, 89
hunter-gatherer societies, agricultural societies versus, 56-59
Hygieia, 166
hygiene
ancient religious beliefs and, 171-173
drawbacks to, 225-226
household hygiene, food poisoning and, 96-97
rise of, 224-226
role of
in autoimmune diseases, 228-229
in warfare, 139
hypodermic needles, as transmission method, 38
I
Iceland, 211
ignis sacer, 107
Iliad (Homer), 27
immune system
autoimmune diseases, 228-229
opportunistic diseases and, 251-252
response to unknown viruses, 241
suppression of, 234
immunity
acquiring, 9
explained, 48
indirect immunity, 52
immunization. See vaccination
imperial expansion, role of disease in, 120-122
inanimate objects, as transmission method, 38
Incas, effect of smallpox on, 200
India, drug discovery in, 256
indigenous Americans
biological isolation from Europeans, 207-208
biological warfare against, 203-204
disease susceptibility of, 17-18, 54
diseases prior to European contact, 194-197
domesticated animals, lack of, 197-198
epidemics after European contact, 200-202
infant mortality, 195
infection with smallpox, 130, 200
initial epidemic in Caribbean islands, 198-200
life expectancy, 194
mortality rate, 193, 202-203
origin of, 193, 203
population density, 197
spotted fevers in, 208-209
typhus, origin of, 209-211
indirect immunity, 52
Indus Valley civilization
cholera, origin of, 71-72
rise and fall of, 74-78
industrialization, decline of Christianity and, 190-191
infant mortality, 7
effect on expectations, 165
of indigenous Americans, 195
infectious disease. See disease
infectious prion disease, 99
influenza
effect on indigenous Americans, 201
efficiency of transmission methods, 242
history of epidemics of, 243
milder version of, 41
mutation of, 234
origin of, 22, 243
resistance to, 52
as RNA virus, 62
Spanish flu of 1918
mortality rate, 242-243
virulence of, 243-244
transmission method, 38
inherited prion disease, 99
Ins and Outs of London (O’Daniel), 142
insect-borne diseases
climate change and, 245
future predictions, 253
in indigenous Americans, 195-197
spotted fevers, 208
insects
effect on disease virulence, 44-45
spread of typhus, 127
as transmission method, 29-30, 39, 216-217
institutional housing, disease in, 129-130
intelligence, role in survival, 227
intentional violence, 34
intentions, lack of impact on disease virulence, 206-207
invaders, protection against, 1-4, 54, 81-83, 118-122. See also mi
litary; warfare
Irish potato famine, 44, 109-110
irrigation projects, 236
role in ancient civilizations, 68
in Roman Empire, 82
Islam
popularity of, 164
response to AIDS, 155-156
Islamic Empire
origin of, 91
smallpox’ effect on, 21, 119
islands, exposure to disease, 205-206
J
jail fever, 209
Japan
biological warfare in World War II, 136-137
mainland epidemics and, 205
smallpox epidemic in, 186-187
smallpox remedies in, 178
Japanese river fever, 210
Jerome (saint), 183
Jerusalem, siege of, 119
John of Ardenne, 145
Judah and Tamar (Biblical story), 160
Junin, 238
Justinian (Emperor of the East), 90
Justinian, plague of, 86, 90-91, 231
K–L
Kaffa, siege of, 120
kanamycin, resistance to, 247
Ki no Ason, 179
Kikuyu tribe of East Africa, 223
kissing bug, 196
knowledge, identifying emerging diseases, 233
Knyghton, Henry de (canon of Leicester), 222
kuru, 97
labor shortage, as result of bubonic plague, 218-219
lactadherin, 71
Langland, William, 188
Lao Tzu, 186
large armies, effect of disease on, 123-124
Lassa fever, 238
transmission methods, 30, 241
virulence of, 24, 41, 239-240
Legionella, 247
Legionnaire’s disease, 233, 246
Leif the Lucky, 211
Leishmaniasis, 195
Lenin, Vladimir, 129
Leo X (pope), 173
leprosy
as mild, 51
origin of, 30-31
resistance to, 51
venereal version of, 149
lice, spread of typhus, 127. See also insects
life expectancy
in advanced societies, 225
in ancient cultures, 167
effect of disease on, 58-59
effect on expectations, 165
in hunter-gatherer versus agricultural societies, 57
of indigenous Americans, 194
in modern civilizations, 192
life, purpose of, 59
linkage disequilibrium, 79
Listeria, 94
Little Ice Age, 217-218, 245
livestock, diseases from, 21
llamas, 198
London, Great Plague of 1665, 189-190, 223
Louis VII (king of France), 124
LSD, 106
Lujo virus, 238
Luther, Martin, 173
Lyme disease, 195, 197, 233
lysergic acid derivatives, 106
lysergic acid propanolamide, 106
M
Maasai tribe of East Africa, 223
Machupo, 238
mad cow disease
economic effects of, 234
effect of technology on, 246
in humans, 102-103
origin of, 99-101
political response to, 101-102
resistance to, 55
magic
Coptic Christianity and, 184-185
Great Plague of 1665 and, 190
Major, John, 102
malaria, 5
in American Indians, lack of, 18
annual mortality rate, 238
cause of, 13
Coptic Christianity and, 184-185
deaths from, 14
effects
of climate change on, 245
on Roman Empire, 83-86
future predictions, 253
HIV/AIDS susceptibility and, 159
lethality of, 14, 16
mutation rate, 62
origin of, 84
resistance to, 51, 54
role in warfare, 122-123
transmission method, 40
treatment of, 256
virulence of, 45
malnutrition
disease as result of, 110-111
effects of
on infectious disease, 44
on tuberculosis, 223
Mandan tribe, 201
manpower, effect of disease on, 58-59
Marburg, 238
Marcomanni, 88
Marcus Aurelius (Emperor of Rome), 87
marshlands, formation of, 85
Mather, Cotton, 202
Maximillian II (emperor of Germany), 127
measles, 54, 214
effect on indigenous Americans, 201
in Fiji, 205
milder version of, 41
origin of, 25-28
population density requirements, 25
resistance to, 51-52
transmission method, 16, 38, 204
meat
contamination of, 93-94
sterilization process, 94
Mecca, siege of, 20-21, 119
melioidosis, as biological warfare, 134
messianic Taoism, 185-186
mice. See rodents
microbes
mutation, 60-62
opportunistic diseases, 60
plasmids, disease virulence and, 63-65
migration of birds, effect on biological isolation, 207
milder versions of disease
emergence of, 40-41
resistance to disease versus, 51-52
military. See also invaders; warfare
large armies, effect of disease on, 123-124
spread of disease by, 116-118
vaccination of, 131
Ming dynasty
expelling evil spirits, 177
prostitution in, 154
mink, prion disease in, 100
mixing, spread of disease via, 117
mobility, spread of disease via, 117
modern civilizations
life expectancy, 192
religion versus science, 191-192
modern Egypt, disease in, 69
modern hygiene. See hygiene
Mohammed, Prophet, 92, 119
Mohenjo-Daro (Indus Valley city), 74, 76
mold. See fungal diseases
monkeys, diseases from, 21-22
monoculture, dangers of, 110
monotheism, polytheism versus, 179-181
morality, sexual
effect of economy on, 143
effect of technological advances on, 143
religious views on, 154-155, 159-162
morbillivirus, 26, 28
mortality rate
bubonic plague, 187, 219, 221
effect of care for the sick on, 167
genetic diversity and, 53
global rate, 238
HIV/AIDS, 152
indigenous Americans, 193, 201
religious implications of, 202-203
smallpox in, 200
influenza, 201
mad cow disease, 102-103
pneumonic plague, 187
Spanish flu of 1918, 242-243
tuberculosis, 224
warfare versus disease, 115-116, 125-126
mosquitoes. See insects
mumps, 28, 41, 214
murine typhus, 29, 209
mutations
in cystic fibrosis, 78-81
in human genome, 235
in microbes, 60-62
Mycobacterium leprae, 31
Mycobacterium lepraemurium, 31
myxomatosis, 53, 137
N
naming customs for venereal disease (VD), 146
Napoleon, 123, 128
Native Americans. See indigenous Americans
Natufian culture, mice in, 29
natural disasters
disease spread during, 235
epidemics and, 245-246
Nav
aho, 166
NDMA receptors, resistance to mad cow disease, 56
needle sharing, role in AIDS transmission, 153
negative aspects of epidemics, 6-8, 53, 56