Independent Researcher. Cambridgeshire, England.
Pathog Glob Health. 2021 May;115(3):151-167. doi: 10.1080/20477724.2021.1878443. Epub 2021 Feb 11.
Before the 20 century many deaths in England, and most likely a majority, were caused by infectious diseases. The focus here is on the biggest killers, plague, typhus, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, childhood infections, pneumonia, and influenza. Many other infectious diseases including puerperal fever, relapsing fever, malaria, syphilis, meningitis, tetanus and gangrene caused thousands of deaths. This review of preventive measures, public health interventions and changes in behavior that reduced the risk of severe infections puts the response to recent epidemic challenges in historical perspective. Two new respiratory viruses have recently caused pandemics: an H1N1 influenza virus genetically related to pig viruses, and a bat-derived coronavirus causing COVID-19. Studies of infectious diseases emerging in human populations in recent decades indicate that the majority were zoonotic, and many of the causal pathogens had a wildlife origin. As hunter-gatherers, humans contracted pathogens from other species, and then from domesticated animals and rodents when they began to live in settled communities based on agriculture. In the modern world of large inter-connected urban populations and rapid transport, the risk of global transmission of new infectious diseases is high. Past and recent experience indicates that surveillance, prevention and control of infectious diseases are critical for global health. Effective interventions are required to control activities that risk dangerous pathogens transferring to humans from wild animals and those reared for food.
在 20 世纪之前，英国的许多死亡病例（很可能占多数）都是由传染病引起的。这里的重点是最大的杀手，如鼠疫、斑疹伤寒、天花、肺结核、霍乱、伤寒、痢疾、儿童传染病、肺炎和流感。许多其他传染病，包括产褥热、回归热、疟疾、梅毒、脑膜炎、破伤风和坏疽，也导致了数千人死亡。对预防措施、公共卫生干预措施和降低严重感染风险的行为变化的回顾，使人们对最近的疫情挑战有了历史的视角。最近，两种新的呼吸道病毒引发了大流行：一种与猪病毒有关的 H1N1 流感病毒，以及一种由蝙蝠传播的冠状病毒，引发了 COVID-19。对近几十年来人类群体中出现的传染病的研究表明，大多数传染病是动物源的，许多病原体的来源是野生动物。作为狩猎采集者，人类从其他物种身上感染了病原体，然后从驯养动物和啮齿动物身上感染了病原体，因为人类开始以农业为基础定居在社区中生活。在现代世界中，人口密集的大型城市相互连接，交通也非常发达，新的传染病在全球传播的风险很高。过去和现在的经验表明，传染病的监测、预防和控制对全球健康至关重要。需要采取有效的干预措施，控制那些可能导致危险病原体从野生动物向人类传播，以及那些从野生动物身上转移到人类身上的风险活动。
