Although many thinkers had ideas about germs, it was not until French doctor Louis Pasteur spread his theory about germs, and the need for washing hands and maintaining sanitation (particularly in medical practice), that anyone listened. It was not until the 1800s that humans began to recognize the existence and role of germs and microbes in relation to disease. The Columbian Exchange, referring to Christopher Columbus's first contact with the native peoples of the Caribbean, began the trade of animals, and plants, and unwittingly began an exchange of diseases. (Note: Scholars believe TB was already endemic in the Americas.) When such diseases were introduced for the first time to new populations of humans, the effects on the native populations were widespread and deadly. When the Europeans traveled to new lands, they carried these diseases with them. People had developed some antibodies to these and other diseases from the Eurasian continent.
In Europe during the age of exploration, diseases such as smallpox, measles and tuberculosis (TB) had already been introduced centuries before through trade with Asia and Africa. Map with the main travels of the Age of Discovery (began in 15th century). Scholars estimate that over a period of four centuries, epidemic diseases wiped out as much as 90 percent of the American indigenous populations. The result of the introduction of Eurasian diseases to the Americas was that many more native peoples were killed by disease and germs than by the colonists' use of guns or other weapons. Severe diseases were often thought of as supernatural or magical. Based on archaeological evidence, some prehistoric practitioners in both Europe and South America used trephining, making a hole in the skull to release illness. Early medicine often included the use of herbs and meditation. During this time, different societies began to integrate, increasing the concentration of humans and animals in certain places, which led to the emergence of new diseases as some jumped in mutation from animals to humans.ĭuring this time sorcerers' and witch doctors' treatment of disease was often focused on magic and religion, and healing the entire body and soul, rather than focusing on a few symptoms like modern medicine. Trading in slaves was another way by which diseases were carried to new locations and peoples, for instance, from sub-Saharan Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas. In addition to trading in goods, many nations began to trade in slavery. Globalization has had many benefits, for example, new products to Europeans were discovered, such as tea, silk and sugar when Europeans developed new trade routes around Africa to India and the Spice Islands, Asia, and eventually running to the Americas. During this time, technological advances in shipbuilding and navigation made it easier for nations to explore outside previous boundaries. The Age of Exploration generally refers to the period between the 15th and 17th centuries. 2.12.1 COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) worldwide crisis.1.1 Effects of globalization on disease in the modern world.As humans began traveling over seas and across lands which were previously isolated, research suggests that diseases have been spread by all five transmission modes. When a native population is infected with a new disease, where they have not developed antibodies through generations of previous exposure, the new disease tends to run rampant within the population.Įtiology, the modern branch of science that deals with the causes of infectious disease, recognizes five major modes of disease transmission: airborne, waterborne, bloodborne, by direct contact, and through vector ( insects or other creatures that carry germs from one species to another). An increase in travel has helped spread diseases to natives of lands who had not previously been exposed. Globalization intensified during the Age of Exploration, but trading routes had long been established between Asia and Europe, along which diseases were also transmitted. Efficient and inexpensive transportation has left few places inaccessible, and increased global trade in agricultural products has brought more and more people into contact with animal diseases that have subsequently jumped species barriers (see zoonosis). In the current era of globalization, the world is more interdependent than at any other time. Early diseases that spread from Asia to Europe were bubonic plague, influenza of various types, and similar infectious diseases. The spread of diseases across wide geographic scales has increased through history. Globalization, the flow of information, goods, capital, and people across political and geographic boundaries, allows infectious diseases to rapidly spread around the world, while also allowing the alleviation of factors such as hunger and poverty, which are key determinants of global health.
Overview of globalization and disease transmission
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