Pandemics, past and present: The role of biological anthropology in interdisciplinary pandemic studies
The Black Death
Subscribe to Christianity Today and get instant access to past issues of Christian History! Catherine of Siena was born in 1347. That year, according to writer Charles L. Mee, Jr., "in all likelihood, a flea riding on the hide of a black rat entered the Italian port of Messina.… The flea had a gut full of the bacillus Yersinia pestis." With that rat, flea, and bacillus, came the most feared plague on record. In just three years, 1348 to 1350, the Black Death killed more than one-third of the entire population between Iceland and India. Remarkably, the young Catherine survived the onslaught. Symptoms of the Black Death What was this plague like, this unseen killer which so changed the fourteenth-century world? "The first symptoms of bubonic plague often appear within several days," writes Mee in Smithsonian (February 1990). They include "headache and a general feeling of weakness, followed by aches and chills in the upper leg and groin, a white coating on the tongue, rapid pulse, slurred speech confusion, fatigue, apathy, and a staggering gait. A blackish pustule usually will form at the point of the flea bite. By the third day, the lymph nodes begin to swell … The heart begins to flutter rapidly as it tries to pump blood through swollen, suffocating tissues. Subcutaneous hemorrhaging occurs, causing purplish blotches on the skin. The victim's nervous system begins to collapse, causing dreadul pain and bizarre neurological disorders.… By the fourth or fifth day, wild anxiety and terror overtake the sufferer—and then a sense of resignation, as the skin blackens and the rictus of death settles on the body." Society Unraveling "It is hard to grasp the strain that the plague put on the physical and spiritual fabric of society," Mee concludes. "People went to bed perfectly healthy and were found dead in the morning. Priests and doctors who came to minister to the sick, so the wild stories ran, would contract the plague with a single touch and die sooner than the person they had come to help." People barred themselves in their houses or fled to the country. A fourteenth-century writer, Jean le Bel, wrote that "one caught it from another, which is why few people dared to help or visit the sick." Yet when another wave of the plague struck Catherine's hometown of Siena in 1374, she determined to stay. Following the example of the early Franciscans and Dominicans, she and her followers stayed to nurse the ill and bury the dead. Respected nineteenth-century historian Philip Schaff wrote that during the plague Catherine "was indefatigable by day and night, healed those of whom the physicians despaired, and she even raised the dead." Such courageous service was nothing new to Catherine. When she began her ministry, writes Caroline Marshall, "she performed the most distressing nursing chores among those incurably ill of cancer and leprosy. Her patients were in pain and often abusive. She believed that these experiences helped her to share in the suffering of the crucified Christ and were, therefore, a great help along her path to the mystical union with God, which was her ultimate goal." Copyright © 1991 by the author or Christianity Today/Christian History magazine.Click here for reprint information on Christian History.I'm The 'Living Nostradamus' Who Predicted Covid And Ukraine War – 2024 Will Mark A Chilling New Chapter In History
A SELF-PROCLAIMED psychic dubbed "The Living Nostradamus" has cast his latest round of prophecies for 2024 and it looks set to be a tornado of a year.
Athos Salomé, 37, from Brazil, warned The Sun that next year could mark a "new chapter in human history" - one filled with aliens, a robot rebellion, global catastrophe, but also hope.
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Athos Salomé predicts that 2024 will be a time of catastrophe and excitementCredit: Athos Salomé8
The Brazilian seer is hoping to give 16th century Nostradamus a run for his moneyThe spooky future-gazer claims to have previously predicted the Coronavirus pandemic, the World Cup final, invasion of Ukraine and the death of The Queen.
He has been likened to Nostradamus, the famous 16th century seer who had plenty of his cryptic prophecies somewhat come true over the centuries since his death.
Now Salomé is giving him a run for his money as he looks into what the future holds in the New Year.
Beyond the space frontierIn relation to space, Salomé states it will be an utterly "transformative" year.
He believes that 2024 will see humans finally make contact with aliens.
However, he cautions that it wouldn't be something out of "science fiction narratives", such as spaceships invading earth.
Instead, he forecasts that humans and aliens will communicate through "encrypted signals intercepted by a network of telescopes".
However, our year of extraterrestrial discovery will not stop there.
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Max Bowden axed from EastEnders 5 months after ex-lover Shona McGarty quitThe 37-year-old also claims an "asteroid abundant with rich materials" is hurtling for earth and will land safely next year.
He predicts that this mass of never-before-seen ancient space materials will spark the new space race as different global superpowers battle to get their hands on a piece of it.
China, Russia and their pariah pals will battle the West to learn what secrets the asteroid holds and things could get nasty.
Five chilling predictions by the 'Living Nostradamus'
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Our worst fears over the power of advanced AI systems could come true in 2024Credit: Getty8
An asteroid could plunge to earth next year and kick off a battle of discovery between China, Russia and the WestCredit: Getty Robot rebellionThe fast-developing power of generative AI systems has been heralded as both a new era for innovation and yet possibly the end of humanity.
And Salomé claims that the growing fears are entirely justified.
He predicts that in 2024 superhuman intelligence systems will achieve self-awareness - effectively becoming conscious digital minds that are able to function without human input.
The seer calls it the "AI awakening" and believes that robots will develop a language beyond the comprehension of its human creators - therefore cutting us out of their conversation.
In his visions, the impacts will be catastrophic to the fabric of our societies which are not at all prepared for a machine-led rebellion.
"Equipped with self improvement capabilities and covert communication channels - it could lead machines and us down a very perilous path," fears Salomé.
World War 3World War 3 is no longer unlikely, Salomé tells The Sun, but an "urgent reality".
However, he prophesied that the threat wouldn't be coming from the Putin's war in Ukraine or the Israel-Hamas conflict, but triggered suddenly by either an event in the South China Sea or a major cyber attack.
These are two areas, the future-gazer argues, that the world might possibly be distracted as it turns a year older.
But - the current axis of evil that is forming between the superpowers of China and Russia is likely to have a lot to do with the world descending into an all-out war, Salomé warns.
And whatever the form the conflicts take, he highlights that the disconnectedness of the global economy means it has never been more vulnerable.
"Any conflicts could have a profound impact leading to recessions in several major economies."
Global catastropheUnfortunately if 2024 didn't already look bleak - Salomé has warned of impending global catastrophe as natural disasters sweep the globe.
He even claims to know exactly where these tragedies will strike.
Nature "always possesses the capacity to catch us off guard," he says, and warns against any complacency towards natural threats.
The psychic predicts three major flashpoints of pain in the Middle East and Africa - South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.
He fears that major droughts owing to climate change will plague these countries and that already simmering conflicts will be unleashed.
Meanwhile, the US will be focused on battling fire and water, Salomé says.
He predicts hurricanes and tropical storms bringing deadly floods near the Gulf of Mexico, while California, Oregon and Washington could suffer from further forest fires.
However, the seer is keen to point out that does not want to cause panic due to his predictions but to call for action and "shake up thinking".
He clarified that none of his predictions are set in stone and there is always the possibility that positive solutions can change them.
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'Living Nostradamus' predicts a tornado of a year aheadCredit: Getty8
Smoke from California wildfires hangs over the San Francisco skylineCredit: Getty8
North American could see a wave of new hurricanesCredit: Getty8
The stargazer sees a fiery future ahead for parts of the worldCredit: GettyHistory Now: SARS And The New Plagues
Why is SARS causing such fear when other diseases, like malaria and the flu virus, kill many more people? How was SARS first contracted? Was it through too close contact with animals? Unsanitary conditions? Is it manmade or a freak of nature? In a comprehensive hour on SARS and the new plagues affecting mankind today, we review past plagues--how they were contracted and controlled--and see how the lessons of history may apply to the current crisis.
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