Read the text and answer the questions
For thousand of years, there were no epidemic diseases. However, when people started living in towns, infections could spread more easily. When traders and armies travelled from city to city, they brought bacteria and viruses with them, thus spreading infections to new populations. Children were in the greatest danger: late into the nineteenth century, 50% of children died before the age of five.
Even though infectious diseases are different and have different symptoms, most infections are spread in the same way: bacteria or viruses are passed on coughing, sneezing or by touching food with infected hands. People began to understand this as early as the 1300s. During the plague in Milan the streets were regularly cleaned and the clothes of plague victims were burned.
Another early way of avoiding disease was quarantine - sick people were isolated from healthy ones.
Vaccines were first used in the eighteenth century. In 1796, Edward Jenner vaccinated countries, people are vaccinated against many common diseases, such as measles or TB.
Funny fact: as late as into the nineteenth century, Ignaz Semmelveiss observed that infecion was spread by doctors' dirty hands and, not until then, a scientist recommended washing hands before touching patients!
Disease
For thousand of years, there were no epidemic diseases. However, when people started living in towns, infections could spread more easily. When traders and armies travelled from city to city, they brought bacteria and viruses with them, thus spreading infections to new populations. Children were in the greatest danger: late into the nineteenth century, 50% of children died before the age of five.Even though infectious diseases are different and have different symptoms, most infections are spread in the same way: bacteria or viruses are passed on coughing, sneezing or by touching food with infected hands. People began to understand this as early as the 1300s. During the plague in Milan the streets were regularly cleaned and the clothes of plague victims were burned.
Another early way of avoiding disease was quarantine - sick people were isolated from healthy ones.
Vaccines were first used in the eighteenth century. In 1796, Edward Jenner vaccinated countries, people are vaccinated against many common diseases, such as measles or TB.
Funny fact: as late as into the nineteenth century, Ignaz Semmelveiss observed that infecion was spread by doctors' dirty hands and, not until then, a scientist recommended washing hands before touching patients!
