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The history of syphilis has been well studied, but the exact origin of the disease remains unknown. [3] It appears to have originated in both Africa and America. [4] [5] As such, there are two primary hypotheses: one proposes that syphilis was carried to Europe from the Americas by the crew(s) of Christopher Columbus as a byproduct of the Columbian exchange, while the other proposes that ...
Smallpox was the disease brought by Europeans that was most destructive to the Native Americans, both in terms of morbidity and mortality. The first well-documented smallpox epidemic in the Americas began in Hispaniola in late 1518 and soon spread to Mexico. [24]
Widespread non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer are not included. An epidemic is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time; in meningococcal infections , an attack rate in excess of 15 cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks is considered ...
Washington understood the destructive nature of smallpox and other diseases such as malaria, diphtheria, and scarlet fever. He was one of the first to introduce the idea of compulsory health initiatives such as widespread inoculation. Washington also had experience with disease outside the realm of combat and war.
Chile reported scarlet fever the first time in 1827 and highest rates were seen during winter months. [53] The disease spread from Valparaiso to Santiago from 1831 to 1832 and claimed 7,000 lives. [53] There were multiple outbreaks in different locations of Chile, including Copaipo in 1875 and Caldera in 1876. [53]
However, some researchers have argued that yellow fever might have existed in the Americas during the pre-Columbian period as mosquitoes of the genus Haemagogus, which is indigenous to the Americas, have been known to carry the disease. [5] The first outbreaks of disease that were probably yellow fever occurred in the Windward Islands of the ...
However, the designations do not refer to the geographical distributions but to the areas where they were first investigated scientifically. [6] In 1907, it was demonstrated conclusively that the bacterium Bacillus larvae was the cause of American foulbrood disease by fulfilling Koch's postulates. [7]
Smallpox is the first disease, and so far the only infectious disease of humans, to be eradicated by deliberate intervention. [6] It became the first disease for which there was an effective vaccine in 1798 when Edward Jenner showed the protective effect of inoculation (vaccination) of humans with material from cowpox lesions. [10]