Category: Plague

The Internet has never been safe enough  browsing online has always meant putting oneself under the threat of contracting a virus. However, as viruses become more difficult to deal with, Internet safety software is getting more complex and sophisticated (Brafford para. 1). As a result, the XXI century viruses no longer hinder the users net surfing or block computer programs from performing its basic functions  they encrypt the files that users store on the computer hard disk.

In his article, John P. Mello, Jr. provides a short overview of the history of the problem and outlines the major threats that the 2014 ransomware innovations have brought onto the cybersociety. According to Mello, easy money is what makes cyber bandits create numerous crypters. While previous types of Trojans merely encrypted the files, creating new types of extensions, the new malware scatters bits of the encrypted files all over the hard disk, thus, making the process of their assembling impossible without the original digital key (Mello para. 3).

The logics behind generating crypters is very easy to understand: demanding comparatively small amounts of money, from $100 to $300, the creators of the virus make a safe bet. Indeed, for an average user, it will be much easier to pay $100 for a digital key instead of $2,000 for a new laptop. Mello warns that crypters may become the plague of the XXI century cybersociety.

Another analysis of the cryptolockers issue, the article written by Maller, Sechan and Hope allows evaluating the effects that crypters have on business and economics. Apart from affecting average users, cryptoviruses pose a tangible threat to a range of organizations, thus, jeopardizing state economy.

True, crypters can be unblocked with the help of experts or, in the worst case scenario, by paying a relatively small ransom to the creators of the virus. However, unlocking crypters takes time, which makes them deadly for the organizations with time-sensitive deadlines (Maller, Sechan and Hope para. 1).

The FBI Moneypack and the FBR virus are currently the most dangerous ones for companies. The choice of the virus title is predetermined by the fact that such an abbreviation as RBI is traditionally taken very seriously. Therefore, employees trust the malware and launch it.

Though Proia does not exactly speak on the issue of crypters, he does provide an interesting analysis of the issue of hacktivism. More to the point, Proja relates it to the First Amendment (Proja para. 1).

The author refers to another paper on the topic, Hacktivism and the First Amendment: Drawing the line between cyber protests and crime (Proja para. 2). According to Proja, fighting the phenomenon of hacktivism may not comply with the First Amendment (Proja para. 4). However, the author claims that the evolution of hacktivism is expected. As a result, it will finally be recognized as one of blocks to peoples freedoms.

Proja ends his article with a quotation from the aforementioned article. Thus, the author leaves much food for thoughts. Though not devoted to the issue of cryptoviruses, the article is related directly to the problem of hacking.

Finally, the article by TheJournal.ie deserves a mentioning. The author comments on the means to fight cryptoviruses. The author offers a detailed overview of the steps to be taken when contracting a cryptovirus or receiving the warning (UK Cyber-Crime Unit Issues Urgent Ransomware Warning para. 2).

According to the author, the NCCU (National Cyber Crime Unit) has recently been formed to address cybercrime issues. However, the NCCU is helpless in this case. NCCU can only define the malware as a piece of Cryptolocker.

NCA also warns that paying the ransom does not guarantee removing the virus. Investigation has been going on for several months, with no results, though. As NCA takes the necessary actions, malware producers create new methods of getting ransom money.

Works Cited

Brafford, John. Ransomware and the Rise of the Sophisticated, Automated Hacker. NC Law Blog 2012. Web.

Maller, Marianne, Vidya Sechanand Bob Hope. Ransomware in the Enterprise. eMazzanti 2013. Web.

Mello, John. CryptoLockers Success Will Fuel Future Copycats. CSO 2014. Web.

Proja, Andrew A. Featured Article: Hacktivism and the First Amendment: Drawing the Line between Cyber Protests and Crime. Cybercrime Review 2014. Web.

UK Cyber-Crime Unit Issues Urgent Ransomware Warning. TheJournal.ie 2014. Web.

The works of Boccaccio and Chaucer include numerous depictions of the social, cultural, and organizational features of medieval society. Some of these characteristic features can be traced to the onset of the Black Plague. One of the most evident features of the society described in both works is the growing disparity between the poor and the wealthy. This gap grew wider as it became apparent that it would be possible to increase one’s chances of survival by distancing oneself from infected individuals. Thus, flight from the areas with large numbers of infected people became common among those who could sustain such a lifestyle (Caraher). For those who decided to stay in their residences, there was still the option of “dissociating themselves from all others” (The Black Death, 14.1 Giovanni Boccaccio).

Boccaccio describes the lifestyle of these people as “avoiding every kind of luxury, but eating and drinking moderately of the most delicate viands and the finest wines, holding converse with none but one another” (The Black Death, 14.1 Giovanni Boccaccio). In this regard, I mostly agree with Student B, who shares my opinion, but I think it is necessary to develop this idea one step further. Specifically, I believe that aside from the aggravation of economic disparities, such behavior also contributed to a growing distrust of strangers and people of other socioeconomic classes. In other words, the seclusion of people within small isolated communities and the need to ensure that no contact was made with outsiders eventually created the mindset of suspicion and distrust that we have come to expect from medieval society. In fact, the way it is described in Boccaccio’s Decameron resembles in many ways the common image of the medieval era seen in popular culture today.

The most significant shift described in both works is that of religious perceptions. The gravity of the situation faced by the population fueled the need to seek salvation in religion and, by extension, created new ways of obtaining the favor of the church. One such practice is the appearance of relics, artifacts intended to protect their owners from the threat of infection. The Pardoner’s Tale contains the following description of the ritual: “Come forth, sir host, and offer first anon, And you shall kiss the relics, every one” (The Black Death, 14.2 Geoffrey Chaucer). In this particular case, the pardoner is a religious impostor, since he is focused on financial gain and does not share true belief in the supernatural qualities of the relic (Crone 134). In this way, the eventual religious disillusionment described by Student A is strengthened by the emergence of impostors.

The bubonic plague is an infection spread to humans through bites from fleas that travel on rodents. It appeared in 541 CE in the Roman Empire, among other regions in which it occurred in waves. The Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, experienced the plague during the reign of Emperor Justinian hence the name Justianic Plague. Emperor Justinian resided in the capital of Constantinople in the Roman Empire and experienced the epidemic firsthand. The emperor and his government handled the plague correctly since the emperor was among the casualties. The Bubonic plague affected many people, and its impact was felt worldwide and among people of all ranks.

The Bubonic plague affected all kinds of people and impacted their physical and mental health. The epidemic was caused by a bacteria known as Yersinia pestis (Mulhall, 2019). The plague was characterized by swollen and oozing buboes, fever, chills, headaches, and disorientation, and these symptoms caused severe pain and mental torture. At some point, the affected patients would see images of boats in the sea with people whose heads were cut off. The swollen buboes were extremely painful and would ooze pus, which made the patients undesirable to get nearby.

The Bubonic plague was spread by rodents such as rats which carried fleas. Human ectoparasite vectors such as human fleas and lice caused the rapid spread of the bubonic plague (Dean et al., 2018). The fleas carried the bacteria Yersinia pestis and would transfer it to humans through bites. Humans also carry fleas, accelerating the spread from one person to another during daily interactions. Rats are attracted to human activities and are found in many homes due to food availability. The plague also spread fast in highly populated areas compared to the countryside, where the population was lower and widespread.

The impact of the plague was first felt in the southeastern Mediterranean and later spread through the Levant to Constantinople. From Constantinople, it spread westwards through the Roman Empire as far north as Germany and Britain (Sessa, 1970). Some of the areas that were hit hardest were the capital of Constantinople and the city of Alexandria. Palestine city as well as Syria were also highly affected. All these areas experienced massive deaths and economic recession. The plague spread fast and ignited different reactions from people who were either victims or families to the victims.

Ordinary people had many reactions to the Justinianic plague, which were later found following the same pattern. The mental health of the victims was affected, and they would see images of people whose heads were cut off on boats in the sea. Mental health issues dominate supernatural and religious etiologies (Munawar et al., 2022). They could hear the people without heads calling them, which caused them to hide indoors and pretend they were not hearing even when their families called them. The victims would also throw themselves from high-story buildings to end their suffering due to extreme pain and mental instability. Therefore no one was left to take care of the victims as their relatives had already died.

People close to the victims were also affected by the plague. Many artisans abandoned trade, and markets were left bare. The buyers and sellers would die during transactions, leading to people avoiding trade. As a result, hunger spread through the Roman Empire as the citizens also refrained from borrowing because they would die immediately; they left the premises from which they had borrowed. The plague was considered the most devastating and deadly pandemic in human history (Lazzari, 2020). The deaths became unbearable, so people would be seen dragging corpses out of their houses. People abandoned their tradition of having a procession and chanting when burying the dead. The corpses were found lying in the streets and houses with no one to bury them, and the Roman government had to intervene.

The authorities had to find quick action to get a solution that would eliminate the corpses spread all over the streets. At first, people would collect the corpses in heaps and transport them to the sea, where they would be thrown. Eventually, they became tired and stopped bothering to bury the dead. The emperor, through his announcer of imperial messages, Theodore, intervened (Procopius, 1914). People were motivated to bury the dead through gifts such as gold and money. The plague caused long-lasting damage to the size of the population and urbanization rates (Alfani, 2019). Eventually were reduced in numbers and were tired and weak hence did not go to the burial sites. Theodore assigned officials who would hold gifts at burial sites and the people would be given the gifts when they buried the dead.

A decision was also made that would ease the burial process. Large pits would be dug, which would hold up to 70,000 corpses at a time because all the individual graves were already filled (Witakowski, 1966). The government also decided that the corpses would be buried outside the city’s walls to reduce the plague’s spread. Physicians would inspect the suspected causes of the plague and hence attempt to find a cure. The physicians during the Justinianic plague developed ways of diagnosing and treating the illness (Mulhall, 2021). The physician would also isolate the victims from their families, which is what they wanted most.

To help the lives of the victims, the government and physicians achieved some results. The government could clear the streets of the corpses, which were e disgusting site. Fewer corpses lay around, which also reduced the rate of spreading of the plague as people now had less contact with droplets from infected people who had the plague. However, not all results were positive, and most of the isolated victims killed themselves by jumping off high buildings to end their misery due to a lack of care and mental torture from ghosts in their minds that they thought existed.

The bubonic plague was caused by flea bites that carried the bacteria Yersinia pestis, which spread fast and widely. The overcrowded and condensed cities also contributed to the occurrence of the Justinianic plague. According to some religious believers, the plagues were caused by divine punishment for man’s sins, which was justified by the fact that all types of people died, whether rich or poor, such as health. The Bubonic plague was also attributed to poor sanitation and a high rodent population in residential areas.

The lessons taken home from the Bubonic plague are essential in improving survival from similar plagues. They can also be used to prevent the occurrence, which has severe consequences. It was realized that proper sanitation is crucial in everyday life as dirty areas provide breeding grounds for rodents and bacteria. Cleanliness plays a crucial role in eliminating fleas and lice, the agents that carry the bacteria. It was also discovered that the plague spread fast in highly populated areas. With this, people can decide to decentralize settlements to keep the plague from spreading fast.

The Bubonic plague affected many people, and its impact was felt worldwide and among people of all ranks. It caused mass, severe pain and mental torture, which led to mass deaths. People reacted differently, and the authorities attempted to intervene and help the victims. It was realized that proper sanitation is crucial in avoiding rodent plagues, and people should maintain top-notch hygiene standards amidst the plagues.

References

Alfani, G. and Percoco, M. (2019). “Plague and long‐term development: The lasting effects of the 1629–30 epidemic on the Italian cities,”The Economic History Review, 72(4).

Dean, K. R., Krauer, F., Walløe, L., Lingjærde, O. C., Bramanti, B., Stenseth, N. C., & Schmid, B. V. (2018). Human ectoparasites and the spread of plague in Europe during the Second Pandemic.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(6).

Lazzari, G., Colavizza, G., Bortoluzzi, F., Drago, D., Erboso, A., Zugno, F.,… & Salathé, M. (2020). A digital reconstruction of the 1630–1631 large plague outbreak in Venice. Scientific reports, 10(1).

Mulhall, J. (2019). “Plague before the pandemics: The Greek medical evidence for bubonic plague before the sixth century,”Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 93(2).

Munawar, K., Mukhtar, F., Choudhry, F. R., & Ng, A. L. O. (2022). Mental health literacy: A systematic review of knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders in Malaysia. Asia‐Pacific Psychiatry, 14(1), e12475.

Procopius (1914) “History of the wars,”Digital Loeb Classical Library [Preprint].

Sessa, K. (1970) The justinianic plague, Origins.

Witakowski, W. (1996) “Pseudo-dionysius of Tel-Mahre Chronicle (part III).” Web.

Introduction

Infectious diseases have been a significant challenge to human evolution for ages. One of the deadliest mortality events in the world’s recorded history was called the Black Death (1347-1352). The infection was caused by a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis (McGowen 13). The disease was brought by Italian Merchants unknowingly to Europe and claimed the lives of 30-50% of the population (McGowen 13). The name “Black Death” was given to the disease following the horror and dread caused by the disease. In 1347, when the sailors infected with the disease harbored at Messina: “In their bones, they bore so virulent a disease that a mortal illness seized anyone who only spoke to them and in no manner could evade death” (Senker 19). People even feared to talk to those who had been infected with the disease. The severe depopulation from the disease positively impacted the socio-economical feudal system of that time. This research will evaluate the impact of the plague on Europe, mainly focusing on socio-economic and medical knowledge.

Better Living Conditions

Before the plague happened, all the land was owned by the king. He would then distribute it to his nobles, who had serfs, to make them work on it and share the profit with the king. The serfs working on the land earned food and lodging. During this period, Europe was overpopulated, and therefore, there were many serfs to worked on the land from the time they could walk until their death (Jedwab et al. 2). The serfs were like slaves because there was no upward mobility in the feudal system. They had to work and were tied to their land from generation to generation. Due to the plague, which claimed many people’s lives, significant depopulation caused a reduction in the number of serfs. The nobles had a hard time as without the serfs; they could not feed their families and pay the king, who gave the survivors a chance to negotiate better working terms. Many lives of the serfs improved significantly, and they could afford clothes, luxury items, and other commodities. This shows that the plague positively impacted the living conditions of the low-class people in Europe.

Expansion of Medical Knowledge

The plague also heavily affected the medical knowledge and practice used during those times. The doctors primarily depended on the work of Aristotle, Roman physician Galen, and Hippocrates, mostly written in Arabic. “The weakness of medieval science was its theoretical and bookish orientation, which emphasized the authority of accepted authors” (McGowen 62) Most of the doctors and caregivers died while giving traditional treatment to the patients. People would die or heal without a reason, which gave the doctors a hard time finding the right cure (Glatter and Finkelman 179). The doctors had to review their previous practice of considering former knowledge without adapting to changes. The death of many theorists, scribes, and translators led to the introduction of new works written in vernacular language. This allowed other people to read medical texts and expanded medical knowledge, which had a positive impact.

Conclusion

The Black Death was a serious plague that claimed the lives of many people. However, despite its negative consequences, it had a positive impact too. The plague helped many serfs improve their lifestyles and work in better conditions. In addition, the plague led to the revolution of medical knowledge, whereby scholars started writing texts in the vernacular to allow broad knowledge diffusion. Therefore, the plague positively impacted the socio-economic and medical knowledge across Europe.

Works Cited

Glatter, Kathryn A., and Paul Finkelman. “History of the Plague: An Ancient Pandemic for the Age of COVID-19.” The American Journal of Medicine, vol. 134, no. 2, 2021, pp. 176–181.

Jedwab, Remi, et al. “The Economic Impact of the Black Death.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020, pp. 1-51.

McGowen, Tom. The Black Death. F. Watts, 1995.

Senker, Cath. The Black Death 1347-1350: The Plague Spreads Across Europe. Raintree, 2007.

Morphology, arrangement, and gram stain of the bacterium

Bubonic plague is a natural focal quarantine infection, which is characterized by high fever, severe intoxication, immunosuppression, possible damage to internal organs, and generalization of the condition. The causative agent of this disease is the bacterium Yersinia pestis (Demeure et al., 2019). Sources and reservoirs of infection include infected people, rats, rabbits, foxes, camels, domestic cats, etc. The carrier is a flea in whose digestive tract Y. pestis multiplies. Insects become infected 3-5 days after infection and remain so for up to a year (Barbieri, 2021). After a flea bite, the contents of the stomach, burdened with bacteria, float to the wound’s surface. The plague bacillus is characterized by a morphologically isolated nucleus, as well as a lack of mobility, and the bacterium is stained bipolar (Demeure et al., 2019). The ways of airborne, fecal-oral, and contact-household transmission are also explained.

Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease

Symptoms of bubonic plague include weakness, headache, sleep disorders, anxiety, movement inconsistency, sometimes delusion, and hallucinations. The disease is also characterized by damage to the gastrointestinal tract, that is, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain (Barbieri, 2021). In addition to the general symptoms, people have small red spots. They are localized, where there were bites of small animals or insects. Gradually, the speck becomes larger, filled with pus and blood (Demeure et al., 2019). A pimple is formed, which bursts after a particular time. The patient has specific symptoms characteristic of a more complex form of the disease, such as enlarged regional lymph nodes, inflammatory processes in tissues, and clusters of inflamed lymph nodes – buboes.

Diagnosis of the bubonic plague does not present any particular difficulties, whereas the clinical diagnosis of the primary pulmonary form is doubtful, and primary septic is practically impossible. Bacterioscopic, bacteriological, biological, serological, and molecular research methods are used (Demeure et al., 2019). The material for the study can be any environment of the body, such as blood, bubonic punctate, sputum, ulcers, urine, and vesicle contents. During the bacteriological examination, pure culture is isolated and identified. For this purpose, the studied material is sown on nutrient media. The obtained physical data of the lungs are feeble, and signs of lobular or focal pneumonia are visible on the X-ray (Demeure et al., 2019). Cardiovascular insufficiency increases, expressed by tachycardia, and a gradual decrease in blood pressure and cyanosis develops.

All forms of plague are treatable if detected early enough. The plague microbe is sensitive to many sulfonamide drugs and antibiotics but shows resistance to penicillin (Barbieri, 2021). The patient’s treatment consists of two main directions. The first is etiotropic therapy, which is carried out using antibiotics including aminoglycosides, tetracyclines (Barbieri, 2021). The doses of antibiotics depend on the form of the disease. Another direction is pathogenetic therapy, which in plague is reduced to detoxification and correction of metabolic disorders, which is observed with the development of infectious and toxic shock. Additionally, symptomatic treatment with analgesics and antispasmodics are carried out, and vitamin therapy is prescribed.

Incubation period, duration of illness, and convalescence period

The incubation period is usually 2-5 days but varies from a few hours to 12 days (Demeure et al., 2019). The duration varies, and in some people, it can be cured entirely, while in others, a fatal outcome can occur 18-24 hours after infection (Barbieri, 2021). In many cases, recovery can happen in 2-4 days with timely treatment.

Chemotherapeutic agents (drugs) used for treatment

With the beginning of the use of antibiotics, the prognosis of the disease has become more favorable, although there are no reliable treatments. Streptomycin is most effective in all forms of plague and has fewer side effects compared to other antibiotics. The dose depends on the form of the disease, the severity of the course and the time of initiation of treatment. Streptomycin in the treatment of bubonic plague is administered in doses of 0.5-1.0 g 3 times a day (World Health Organisation, 2022).

Vaccines available?

There is no bubonic plague vaccine in the USA, while in other countries these vaccines can only be provided for those people who have a risk of contracting bubonic plague at work.

How is the bacterium transmitted?

The causative agent of this disease is the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Sources of infection include infected people, rats, rabbits, foxes, domestic cats, etc. The carrier is a flea in whose digestive tract the bacterium multiplies. Insects become infected 3-5 days after infection and remain so for up to a year (World Health Organisation, 2022). After a flea bite, the contents of the stomach, burdened with bacteria, float to the wound’s surface. The main risk factors for bubonic plague infection include living in endemic areas, military service, rat control classes, barn work, and veterinary work.

How can the bacterium/illness be avoided?

Prevention consists primarily in informing the population about the foci of the spread of plague among animals. In this case, it is recommended to beware of flea bites and not to touch the corpses of animals. People should also avoid direct contact with infected tissues and patients suffering from the plague (Demeure et al., 2019). Preventive measures also involve the prevention of the importation of infection from other countries and the occurrence of the disease in areas that are not affected by the plague. If the spread of infection is detected within a particular region, anti-plague institutions carry out deratization and disinfections measures. In the case of detection of patients with the bubonic form of plague in focus, restrictive measures are introduced; when detecting patients with the pulmonary form, quarantine is introduced.

Any additional distinguishing/notable features of the bacterium and/or disease

In the past, the plague caused large-scale pandemics accompanied by high mortality. In the XIV century, one of the forms of the epidemic, known as the Black Death, claimed the lives of 50 million people, resulting in the death of a quarter of the population of Europe (Bramanti et al., 2019). The disease is caused by the plague bacillus Yersinia pestis — a type of gram-negative spore-forming bacteria, facultative anaerobes. Plague pathogens secrete exotoxins and endotoxins, which are contained in the bodies and capsules of bacteria. Bacterial aggression enzymes facilitate their penetration into the body. The wand can penetrate even through intact skin. In the ground, the plague bacillus does not lose its viability for up to several months. It survives up to one month in the corpses of animals and rodents.

Bacteria are resistant to low temperatures and freezing. The causative agents of the plague are sensitive to high temperatures, the acidic reaction of the environment, and sunlight, which kill them only in 2-3 hours (Demeure et al., 2019). The ability of the plague bacillus to form a capsule and anti-phagocytic mucus does not allow macrophages and leukocytes to fight it actively. As a result, the pathogen multiplies rapidly in the organs and tissues of humans and animals. The causative agents of the plague, through the damaged skin and further along the lymphatic pathways, penetrate the lymph nodes, which become inflamed and form conglomerates (Demeure et al., 2019). The penetration of the pathogen into the bloodstream and its massive reproduction leads to the development of bacterial sepsis.

References

Barbieri, R. (2021). Origin, transmission, and evolution of plague over 400 y in Europe.PNAS, 118(39), 1-3.

Bramanti, B., Dean, K., Walløe, L., & Stenseth, N. (2019). The third plague pandemic in Europe. Proceedings of the Royal Society, 286(1901), 1-8.

Demeure, C.E., Dussurget, O., Mas Fiol, G., Le Guern, A., Savin, C., & Pizarro-Cerdá, J. (2019). Yersinia pestis and plague: An updated view on evolution, virulence determinants, immune subversion, vaccination, and diagnostics. Genes Immunity, 20(1), 357–370.

World Health Organisation. (2022). Plague.