DISEASES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

Abstract

Different contagious diseases had huge impact on the society during the history. Their appearance destroyed and devastated whole teritories, caused number of victims which drastically surpassed the ones in wars, and after the appearance of such disease the whole path of the history changed. The most important contagious diseases are known and written in the earliest known records, from the beginning of the world they were humans` companion, their impact on the development, suffer and death is huge during hundreds of years. Smallpox belong to the most deadly and the scariest viral diseases faced by humanity. Pandemic of Spanish flu from 1918 is the biggest global demographic earthquake that the world has ever experienced. One of the most important transmisive (vector) mosquito-borne diseases, caused by protozoa, is malaria. Lice transmit the causer of typhus fever, trench fever and recurrent fever. Plague in natural habitats transmits rat flea and it is one of the most dangerous bacterial diseases. Typhus fever was a constant companion of the distress, accidents and suffering of the people during wars. Many faiths of people were connected with tuberculosis, it was always an unavoidable part of living community. Leprosy is one of the oldest and scariest diseases. It was a synonym for stigmatization and discrimination because of big deformations on the body. Styphilis is constant and unwanted companion of humanity for more than 400 years. Since its first occurance, styphilis was stigmatisized, disgraceful disease. Contemporary past of cholera began in 1817. Cholera causes difficult clinical diseases followed by humans pain and panic, and disrupts social and economic structure and develompent of the society wherever it occurs. It is visible that throughout the whole history, contagious diseases had huge impact on development and prosperity of the humanity. Throughtout the history, humans had many important wars and battles, but perhaps the biggest ones were fought, and many of them are still fighting, against the contagious diseases.