Pandemics Are Not Always Caused By Influenza Viruses

Global Pandemics throughout history have been caused by many different diseases.

From bubonic plague, hemorrhagic fever, HIV/AIDs, SARS, typhus, smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, influenza, scarlet fever, malaria, diphtheria, and poliomyelitis are some infectious diseases that have resulted in epidemic or pandemic outbreaks. today, there are the drug resistant diseases like tuberculosis and MRSA which threaten to outpace modern science as far as treatment and containment are concerned.

With all of our modern medical knowledge and modern treatment techniques, still not enough is known and/or still enough cannot be done to prevent horrible diseases from taking hold of the population. At some point it will truly come down to us meeting these plagues and pestilences as individuals and families right where we live. And we better be prepared to fight them or to perish.

Some people say that it cannot happen again. Others say that if it does happen there will be a cure and it will be delivered to them in time. This is just not so.

People trust in modern medicines and physicians when these physicians themselves say not to do this. Experts tell us to prepare, they tell us that we must know how to place barriers between ourselves and the illness. Masks, hand sanitizers, voluntary isolation and quarantine, social distancing, closing schools and businesses, we must know how and when to do this in order to safeguard ourselves and our families. And then we will need to be able to pick up the pieces of our lives and our cities, towns, states, and countries after the “storm” passes through.

Many, if not most, of these plagues and pestilences were spread by soldiers and troops returning from far away wars or wars that were being fought in the areas of origin. Soldiers were the travelers of those days. Today our travelers are businessmen and holiday goers. This change is very recent and will prove to be deadly.  Our patterns of travel today are new, certainly within this generation we have witnessed the birth of the generation that runs to and fro.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. ~Daniel 12:4

We are the generation running to and fro. We are the generation witnessing a, if not “the”, increase in knowledge. Almost every document ever written is at our fingertips, literally. Through Google Translator tools we can speak to almost any person anywhere on the globe in their own language.

verse 10 also explains why some will not turn to God for understanding while we all endure this trial.

“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand”. ~Daniel 12:10

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With all of our modern science and technology there exists no cure for bubonic plague and viral hemorrhagic fever, or other viral illnesses. There is no reason to believe that science has irradiated them and that they are not a threat to us even today. With 6 billion people on earth antibiotics and antivirals will not save us all or even many of us.

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c. 1300 BC in Akhet-Aten a plague of unknown cause forced the abandonment of the city now known as El-Amarna. This cause is unknown of this plague that spread throughout the Middle East at that time.

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430 BC the first known pandemic – An unknown killer spread causing symptoms of high fever, conjunctivitis, diarrhea, vomiting, violent muscle spasms, pustules and then death. Most people died after seven or eight days of suffering. Survivors were left without fingers, toes, some lost their eyesight or their memory. No one knows whether this was caused by bubonic plague or perhaps smallpox or measles, anthrax, typhus or typhoid. The mystery remains.

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165 – 180 AD Rome was the site of origin for this pandemic, the Antonine Plague, which spread through Africa and then on through Greece and beyond. An estimated five million people died of the also estimated 190 million people alive at that time. Scientists believe that this plague was caused by either smallpox or measles brought back by returning troops from war. Rome alone suffered 2000 deaths per day. One quarter of those infected died. Their symptoms; high fever, diarrhea, inflammation of the throat, pustular skin eruptions. Smallpox or measles may have been the cause of this pandemic.

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251 – 266 AD the Plague of Cyprian occurred. 5000 people a day died in Rome. Diarrhea, vomiting, conjunctivitis, severe infection from pustules which caused loss of body parts due to gangrene or severe infection, blindness. The cause was thought to be smallpox or measles. Smallpox has been eradicated except for the samples in labs. Measles we have vaccines against, they work effectively for now but there effectiveness is also determined by how many actually utilize the vaccines.

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527 – 565 AD the Plague of Justinian occurred. For roughly 50 years people were effected by either a viral hemorrhagic or bubonic plague. Most likely the cause was bubonic plague. in May 542, Constantinople experienced the worst of the outbreaks. People shut themselves in their homes hoping to escape the sickness. Sudden high fever, chills, vomiting, light sensitivity, buboes in the armpits and groin, or behind the ears or in the thighs caused great pain. Violent muscle spasms and then coma, and then most often death was the result. Those who survived were weakened for life, some could not speak because of the effects of the illness. It is estimated that 100 million people died, half of the worlds population at the time.

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639 AD the Plague of Emmaus occurred in Palestine and was of unknown cause but widely thought to be bubonic plague. 25,000 people died and it is thought to have been part of the outbreaks following the Plague of Justinian.

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1347 – 1351 AD the Black Death.  A bubonic plague with three variations occurred. Bubonic, where swellings or buboes appeared. Pneumonic plague was also experienced and it attacked the respiratory system. Once contracted people lived approximately two days. The septicemic variant attacked the blood system.

Because people at the time did not understand what was overtaking them they reacted in ways that were not helpful in stopping the spread of the illness within their families and countryside.

 

the list goes on…..

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1402 – 1404 AD the Great Plague of Iceland a black death plague. Nearly one-third of the population died.

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1575 AD the Hemorrhagic Plague of 1575 actually took place throughout Northern Europe between 1571 – 1576.

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1592 – 1594 AD the London Plague a hemorrhagic plague

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1629 – 1631 AD the Great Plague of Milan a hemorrhagic plague

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1641 – 1644 AD the plague of unknown cause that ended the Ming Dynasty occurred.

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1649 AD the hemorrhagic Plague of Seville occurred.

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1665 – 1666 AD the Great Plague of London, a hemorrhagic plague occurred.

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1679 – 1680s AD the Great Plague of Vienna, a hemorrhagic plague occurred.

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1720 – 1722 AD the Great Plague of Marseille, possibly a bubonic plague, occurred.

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1771 AD the Plague Riot in Moscow, possibly caused by bubonic plague, occurred.

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1855 – 1950s AD the Third Pandemic of bubonic plague which originated in China occurred.

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1918 – Called the Spanish Flu or the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, estimates of 50 million to 100 million people worldwide died.

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1957 a mild influenza pandemic occurred

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1968 a mild influenza pandemic occurred

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Today’s negative sense RNA viruses or some other disease already common and known to man could spark a global pandemic. Intellectual honesty also demands that in this modern age we acknowledge the manipulation of these agents as a possible trigger to a pandemic, but as seen from these pandemics of history, nature can be quite cruel on its own. But to think that today we are limited in threat only to the H5N1 influenza virus is a mistake.

Within the family of viruses there are others specific ones which are on the watch list. Arenaviruses, the Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Filoviruses, ebola virus are all cited in various places as possible causes of the next pandemic. Even dengue, and chikungunya and malaria, typically tropical diseases, are changing in their scope and reach. So what are we, in the general population, to do?

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There is a common denominator to how to deal with this, preparedness. We don’t need to focus on one or even all of these diseases – simply focusing on how to prevent their spread by practicing good hygiene and knowing what to do when there is an epidemic in our area is enough for right now. Knowing how to build up our resiliency is crucial in a world of six billion people. We must also focus on how we will recover as families and communities, how we will pick up the pieces of our lives in order to go on.

As for me and mine, we keep these diseases in the back of my mind  but we do not get caught up in focusing on each and every specific threat. To do so would keep us from thinking about what I must do to protect my family. The “all pandemic hazards” approach works for us because what we must do is the same for any cause.

1. Prepare our home for a length of time where we must shelter in place. Three to four months of supplies is the prudent approach.

2. Know how to isolate an ill family member while being able to still care for them safely and with love and caring.

3. Know how to help others who are not yet aware of what to do when the time comes. Know how we as community members can safely help each other.

4. Make use of any vaccines and preventative measures that we have today that may help us in the battle against an influenza pandemic. Seasonal flu vaccines may help us fight off pandemic influenza. Today’s vaccines are safe for virtually everyone and while we are not compelled to take them it is wise to do so.

5. One of the most important things that we can do, in my assessment, is to be prepared on all levels of our lives. Spiritually, mentally and physically prepare for what is ahead. Know the reason for your hope and speak about your hope to others.

We are alone and yet together in this battle against a common enemy – disease.

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