Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

COVID-19 stands on the shoulders of giants

Martin Lustick, MD
Conditions
December 7, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to assimilate the global transformation that has taken place in just a few short months.  As we each struggle to make sense of this life-altering event, it might help to reflect on pandemics’ history in general.

In his book, Epidemics and Society, published last year, Frank Snowden does just that. Exhibiting diligence and deep knowledge, Snowden demonstrates how pandemics have shaped history and how history has shaped pandemics.  In doing so, he helps us understand the complex interplay among biological, social, economic, environmental, and political factors as pandemics have come and gone throughout human history.

As an example of pandemics shaping history, Snowden relates the story of Napoleon’s attempt to suppress the slave rebellion in what is today’s Dominican Republic.  The rebels understood that yellow fever, to which most African slaves were immune, could help them defeat the French army. When the French arrived in late winter, the rebels embarked on a guerilla warfare strategy forcing them to stay huddled in the ports until the weather warmed up enough for yellow fever to spread among the soldiers. Within months, the decimated French army surrendered and Napoleon decided that without this foothold in the New World, he would sell the Louisiana territory to the U.S. and turn his attention eastward to Russia and India.

But history has also shaped pandemics. The bubonic plague in Europe, the most lethal of all pandemics to date, would likely have been dramatically less severe had there not been a robust shipping industry that brought the rats (rattus rattus) that carried yersinia pestis from far-flung ports in Asia. Likewise, urbanization facilitated the spread of diseases such as cholera.

Another fascinating theme in Snowden’s book is pandemics’ impact on the gradual development of public health and advances in medicine. He carefully traces the first quarantines in Italy to control the spread of bubonic plague, the development of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner, and efforts to improve sanitation in response to cholera. He describes advances in science and medicine that led to Louis Pasteur’s germ theory, the development of antibiotics, polio vaccine, and anti-viral drugs.

Even with all those advances, Snowden argues that microbes possess formidable advantages in their Darwinian battle with humans: “They enjoy enormous mutability, and they replicate a billion times more quickly than humans.”   As this millennium has already seen outbreaks of SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika, and now COVID-19, there is a compelling need for health care professionals to help find ways to advance our knowledge and skills in managing pandemics.

In our discussions with providers across the country, we’ve been struck by the many examples of courage, commitment, and creativity they’ve exhibited in confronting the immediate challenges of this pandemic. Applying that same approach and collaborating across sectors, from providers and health information technology to public health and pharmacy, we can all help define the longer-term solutions that will protect us from the ongoing threat of this and future pandemics.

Martin Lustick is a physician and senior vice-president and principal, NextGen Healthcare.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Live like you are dying

December 7, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

The truth about Baron Von Munchausen, Munchausen’s Syndrome, and Munchausen’s by proxy

December 7, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Live like you are dying
Next Post >
The truth about Baron Von Munchausen, Munchausen’s Syndrome, and Munchausen’s by proxy

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Martin Lustick, MD

  • The claims data dilemma: 4 things to consider

    Martin Lustick, MD
  • The “wonder years” of health care

    Martin Lustick, MD
  • 3 ways interoperability will improve health care

    Martin Lustick, MD

Related Posts

  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • State sanctioned executions in the age of COVID-19

    Kasey Johnson, DO
  • A patient’s COVID-19 reflections

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Starting medical school in the midst of COVID-19

    Horacio Romero Castillo
  • COVID-19 shows why we need health insurance

    Jingyi Liu, MD

More in Conditions

  • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

    Frank I. Jackson, DO
  • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

    Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD
  • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

    Althea Halchuck, EJD
  • How coaching transforms care for people with multiple sclerosis

    Jessica Singh, MD and Liz Kiniry
  • Integrating vitamin education in mental health care

    Scarlett Saitta
  • Mumps orchitis still causes infertility years after childhood

    Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • The hidden moral injury behind value-based health care

      Jonathan Bushman, DO | Physician
    • Nurse-initiated protocols for sepsis: a strategic imperative for patient care and hospital operations

      Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • A dual citizen’s choice between two imperfect systems [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • The hidden moral injury behind value-based health care

      Jonathan Bushman, DO | Physician
    • Nurse-initiated protocols for sepsis: a strategic imperative for patient care and hospital operations

      Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • A dual citizen’s choice between two imperfect systems [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...