secret plague Flashcards
2 parts of the secret plague
HIV, syphilis
syphilis
- sexually transmitted disease
- through oral or intercourse were the main route
- can also possible produce infection due to exposure of bacteria through cuts
- only infectious during the first stages
- can be transmitted congenitally - mother to infant
- was known as the french disease
STD’s
- ‘venereal disease’ depicted as female
- STD’s are punishment for sexual license
- women were though of as dangerous and contaminating
AIDS
-first identified in gay males
the gnome is RNA based
-HIV evolves very quickly due to high mutation rate and high rate of virus replication
-multiple transmission events from chimps to humans and even to gorillas have occurred
-HIV is divided into 4 groups of viruses= M, N, O, P
blame networks
-put blame on others so that takes the idea away that they themselves may be the dangerous ones
epidemic
occurrence in a community (region) of cases of an illness
pandemic
disease present throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world, Justinian plague was the first one, 2nd was the black death
endemic
disease found among certain people or in a certain area
-in a region, country or continent
TB
- primary TB develops 1-2 yrs after infection
- post- primary TB develops later in life
- symptoms of early TB are often mild, similar to the flu or common cold
- there is the primary infection stage and the reactivation stage
- the bacterium is entirely clonal in structure (no recombination)
- it was understood to be communicable, also curable and preventable
- conceptualization of it changed over time
- the only disease where special gov’t organization had control over family separation and reunification, and daily rituals of living and dying
cholera
-appeared suddenly, spread mysteriously and killed violently
-affects small intestine
-caused by Vibrio cholerae
human specific
-developing countries are affected the most
-stigmas= on the developing countries
small pox
- unknown origin
- likely spread by traders
- human specific
- may have emerged more than once
- associated with irrigation agricultural societies
syphilis
3 possible origins:
1. Columbus brought back syphilis with his crew from the New World
2. it existed in the old world, but was mistaken as leprosy or another disease
3. the same microbe causes all treponemal disease
stigmas=the afflicted are stigmatized as; polluted and contaminated, involvement in corrupt social and sexual relations, for women it is punishment for sexual license, women are “dangerous” and “contaminating”
mad cow disease
- BSE reported in cattle herds
- destroys the brain and spinal cord
- people cannot get it
- caused by tiny holes forming in the brain making animal lose control of it
superbug
bacteria that are resistant to multiple different types of antibiotics, can cause fever, weight loss, watery diarrhea etc.
HIV
- has both RNA and DNA stages
- extremely genetically diverse, evolves 1 million times faster than human DNA due to high mutation rate and high virus replication
- evolves extremely quickly
- most likely transmitted from other primates to humans under natural conditions e.g. chimps are hunted for food
- gradual increase in spread to sexual intercourse and unsterilized needles
- consequences= it was looked at as a “gay plague” therefore stigmatized gays, one of the greatest killers in the world
