Epidemiology/History/Introduction

Rat trappers in 1914, New Orleans. There was an outbreak of the bubonic plague in New Orleans. Officials, knowing that the plague was transmitted by fleas carried by rats, sent these men out to capture and kill the spreaders of disease.

On the History of Public Health

It should be noted that the discipline of Public Health, or even health in general, has not had one of the most illustrious careers. In fact, out of all the scientific disciplines, it has had one of the most filthy, disgusting, sickening, disturbing, and at times, controversial, histories of all. The history of Public Health is filled with puss-filled black sores, puss-filled red sores, vomit and blood, the dirty and ravaged faces of the poor, of children, of those who simply could not prevent it. There have been churches screaming heresy, and followers screaming for God, and just generally people screaming. It would take a long time before people really realized what might cause disease, what is the nature of disease, and how to prevent it. And it should not be surprising that the most notable of events only happened within the last couple of hundred years.

A Timeline

On the pages of this book, there shall be a running timeline, to help you keep up with the developments both discussed and not discussed here. It will include important health achievements, developments, et cetera; and it will also include important events outside of the subject of health so as to help you grasp what really affected each event and the era in which it was occurring.