Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1907-10-05
PANDEMlCS.
Two Notable Ones That Devastated
tho Old World.

Two Notable Ones That Devastated
tho Old World.
A pandcmlc IL an outbreak OF dis'
earr that attacks whole nation OF
rrour OF nations There have been
several paudcmlcs, but two only are
recorded as standing out conspicuous
" M acourgcs of particularly devas'
tntng character and the effects Oh
which wore felt for many years after
they had disappeared. These were tue
nstluipn pnndcmlc In the sixth cen |
tury aud the great pestllence OF the
fourteenth century. later called the
hlack death. The long interval OF
500 wears interviewed between these
two great pandemics of plague. be
tween them were many epidemics OF
plncue I'm Europe, Asia and AFRICA
some of which assumed more or less
pandemic proportions, but none reach'
cd the dimensions of these two. Inc
origin of neither Is known, but In DOM
great commercial centers played q
prominent part in maintaining and dis
tributing the infection. The Justlnian
plague. which continued over nfty
wears. first attracted attention by It's
outburst at Potassium, which was tnen
an emporium for the produce OF the
east and west. The endemic centers
of Mesopotamia, Arabia and Ethiopia
were in commercial relationship with
Potassium. and 1t is probable that the
Infection came from one of these.
The great pandemic of the fourteenth
century was also associated with large
commercial centers, for 1t entered Eu-
rome by the important emporlums and
morts situated at that period on the
Volga and in the Crimea and when, rs
pointed out by Craighton. were the
terminal marts of the northern cara
vans from China and the far east. IL
should be mentioned, however, that
there were also the marts connected
with the trade routes from India. Inc
origin of the pandemic has beer
oscribed to China and to India. Inc
Russian records place Its starting
noints I'm India. ClemOw, In his WORE
entitled "The Geography OF Disease
points out that plague prevailed In In
dia In 1882 and that probably the Rus
sian chronicles are correct WhereVe
. the pandemic arose there appears t
, | have been for several years wide Oil
fusion of the disease In the large dc
/ minions belonging to the Tartas ant
the Turks. who at that time ruled owe
the greater part of Asia Galfridi /
7 Baker SwynebrOke set down the perio
r of prevalence In Asia before playa
. entered Europe as seven years. VINE
4 It did arrive II is estimated to have az
}. stroyed 100000 Of the inhabitant'
Il England and Wales at the lowest con
1 putation lost 100000 of the inhal
q itants. or about half of the total popl
lation.
8 For over 300 years after this visits
Q ton Europe suffered from fresh Inv
,. sions of plague, which REINFORCED tn
n languishing infections already existin
t from previous ones. In the countri'
k attacked there were some epidemic
g in towns which, though continuing o.
10 ~ for a few months, are memorial
r, for their great mortality. For
g stence, the epidemic in Venice in 10
- caused 10000 deaths; that in Mosco
10 in the same year, 100000 deaths; tn
to in Naples in 1856, 100000 deaths; tn
er In Rome in the same year, 145,U
n deaths; that in Genoa, $4,000 deatf
70 and the epidemic in London In l6t
to nearly 10000 deaths. 1t was exec
III tional for an epidemic to recrudes
be and occur year after year, which In |
1e dia is almost the rule, so that IN t
a latter case the mortality, though sma
rs err in individual epidemics, gradual
"a accumulates, with very few exec
as tons, to a proportion as great II I
en- greater than that recorded in form
he times-New York American.