The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-03
PANDEMlCs.
Two Notable Ones That Devastated
the Old World.

A pandemic is al outbreak Of dis
ease that attacks 81 whole nation or
group of nations There have been
several pHildemics but two only are
recorded as Standing out conspicuous
" as scnlrgeS of Il particularly deVas-
tating character aud the effects II
which We're felt for many years after
they had disappeared These We're the
JuStiuinn paudemic In the sixth cen
fury and the great peStilence OF the
fourteenth century. later called the
black death. The long interval OF
800 wears interviewed between these
two great pandemics of plague. Be
tween them We're many "iidemics OF
plague In Europe Asia and Africa,
some of which assumed more or less
pandemic proportions. but none reach
ed the dimensions of these two. The
origin of neither Is known but in both
great commercial centerS played
prominent part In maintaining and dis
tributing the infection. The lustihiIn
plague which continued over fifty
Years, first attracted attention by Its
outlulrst AT Potassium. which was then
an emporium for the produce of the
east and west. The endemic centers
of Mesopotamia. Arabia and Ethiopia
were in commercial relationship with
relusium, and 1t Is probable that the
| Infection came from one of these.
The great pan,lcmic Of the fourteenth
| century was also associated with large
| commercial centcrS. for IT entered Flu
rope by the important cmror'1ms an
mart% situated ut that period on the
| Nolga and in the trilnca and which. a%
pointed ont hy Craighton. We're the
| terminal mart$ of the northern cara
vans from China AMI tn" far east. II
| should he mentioned. however, that
| there were also the mart& connected
with the trade routes from India. The
origin of the pnndemic has been
ascrihcd to China and to India. The
Russian records place its starting
points in India. tlcmow. in his work
entitled The Geography of Disease.
points ont that plague prevailed in In
dia in 1880 and that probably the Rus
sian chronicles are correct, Wherever
the pandrmic arose there appears to
have been for several years Il Wide diff
| fusion of the disease In the large do
minions belonging to the Tnrtars and
the Turks. who at that time ruled over
the greater part of Asia. Galfrfdi lie
| Baker SWynebrolle set down the period
It,f h1t,f In Act t.ttft tIn triI,
entered Europe as seven years. When
it did arrive it is estimated to have de
stroyed 2u0nWGO of the inhabitants
England and Wales ut the lowest com
putation lost 2.50n.M0 of the inhab
itants, or about half of the total popu-
laton.
For over 300 years after this vista
ton Europe suffered from fresh inva
! sions of plague. which re-enforced- the
| languiShing fettinnS already existing
from previous ones. I'm the countries
attacked there were some epidemica
in towns which. though continuing on
| ~ for Il few months, are memorable
for their great mortality. For in
stance. the epidemic in Venice in 1915
| calSei ib,"'b ueaulS, tllat III MoSco"
| In the same year. 5000 deaths: that
i'm Naples in 1866. 100000 deaths: that
in Rome in the same year. 1000
deaths: that in Genoa. 10000 deaths
and the epidemic in London in 1865
nearly 10000 deaths. 1t was excap
tional for an epidemic to recrudesce
and occur year after year. which in In
dia Is almost the rule. SO that in the
latter case the mortality, though small
or in individual epidemics. gradually
tons. to a proportion as great if not
greater than that recorded in former
times.-Ne York American
| AAL.a.~ Lal r n.o