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Although distance between people has been used since ancient times to prevent the spread of disease, it is in the current coronavirus pandemic that global quarantine is occurring for the first time. The analysis is performed by the researcher and author of the book Pandemics – Humanity at Risk, the infectologist at the German Oswaldo Cruz Hospital, Stefan Cunha Ujvari.
At least 1.5 billion people worldwide are affected by actions to combat the coronavirus, such as school closings, social isolation or quarantines. The data, from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), only take into account the impact on children outside of school and show the strength of a pandemic to change the daily life of people.
According to the researcher, the current pandemic has echoes of the past, that is, elements common to ancient pandemics, such as panic and the appearance of false news. However, it brings the novelty of carrying out a global quarantine, practically carried out at the same time by hundreds of countries.
“There is no way we can compare [a atual pandemia]. It is a unique problem, which practically stopped the entire planet due to a new epidemic and all the problems it will cause in the health system and, basically, in the economy. There is no comparison, it is a unique case, of general quarantine, of practically all countries, ”he said.
Black Death
According to the researcher, despite the differences, much of what people currently face, such as isolation and reduced trade, has already been experienced by generations that have gone through previous pandemics, such as the Black Death or the Bubonic Death. , for example.
“The trade stopped, because the nearby cities were afraid that the bubonic plague would reach the city. The city gates closed, there was no commercial process, the economy decreased in that city. People stayed inside the house, practically isolated, because they thought, at that time, that one of the causes of the epidemic was miasma, that it would be poisonous gases that came out of the ground or even people who died, “he said.
The Black Death devastated Europe between 1347 and 1351, causing more deaths than any other epidemic or war so far. There were several serious outbreaks of the disease up to 1,400 on the continent. Studies indicate that the plague, which appeared in China, was caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, which infected humans through the flea Xenopsylla cheopis, which generally lives in rats.
“People stayed inside the house, isolated, with the windows closed, so that the winds did not bring miasmas. The bodies were placed on the doorstep of the houses and the organs of the city governments took them in cars, buried them in collective ditches, it was a real chaos, “said Cunha.
The disease was transmitted by naval transport to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea, from where it spread, affecting Italy, North Africa, Spain, France, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Then the epidemic hit England, Scotland, Scandinavia, and the Baltic countries.
“This is the most important epidemic because in a short time it killed a third of the entire population of Europe. After that, it exploded in some cities until the 18th century, “says Cunha.
A man in a protective face mask, after an outbreak of coronavirus disease, passes inside a nearly empty convention complex in Tokyo, Japan
Social isolation is a common measure in several pandemics throughout history – REUTERS / Issei Kato / Rights reserved
Spanish flu
According to the researcher, there was always a basic characteristic in these great epidemics, which was panic. “The Spanish flu of 1918 caused panic and today we see that chloroquine ends up in pharmacies, the mask ends. At that time, cachaça, garlic and lemon ended up in supermarkets, because people believed that they were substances that prevented the disease, “said Cunha.
The Spanish flu epidemic, which started in 1918, was the most serious flu outbreak of the 20th century. Considering the mortality caused by the disease, it was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. The disease, which affected practically everyone, was transmitted from person to person through respiratory secretions. The flu was caused by an H1N1 subtype of the influenza virus and resulted in the deaths of 25 to 50 million people.
Studies indicate that the epidemic began to register in the United States, in the state of Kansas. The first outbreak occurred initially in March 1918, during the First World War. In July, the virus hit Poland. The flu was usually followed by pneumonia, which could kill a few days after the flu symptoms started.
As Spain was neutral in World War I, the local press, which was not under censorship due to the conflict, normally reported on the country’s pandemic events. In other countries that participated in the conflict, the subject was censored in the newspapers. Thus, illusory, Spain registered a greater number of cases of the disease, which ended up being named in honor of the European country.
In Brazil, the epidemic arrived in September 1918, using the English ship Demerara, coming from Lisbon. From there, people landed in Recife, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. In just over two weeks, in addition to these cities, cases of influenza have arisen in other places in the northeast and in São Paulo. An estimated 14,348 people died in Rio de Janeiro alone. In São Paulo, around 2,000 people died.
“In the 20th century, we had the arrival of the Spanish flu in Brazil, a kind of globalization of the disease. Here it ended up having a great impact on the economy and mortality of large Brazilian cities, ”said Cunha.
Swine flu
Ninety years after the Spanish flu, a new strain of the H1N1 influenza virus has returned to the circulation and caused a new pandemic. The disease was originally called swine flu because there was a suspicion that the virus had been transmitted to humans from pigs. The disease began to register in Mexico and then spread to the United States.
The 2009 H1N1 outbreak was not as deadly as the 1918-1919 pandemic. However, the virus was highly contagious and spread rapidly, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to issue a pandemic alert in April 2009. “We had another major epidemic, which was our 2009 swine flu. It ended up coming here causing a surprise, which was the mortality of the young population and saving the elderly,” said Cunha.
Stefan Cunha Ujvari’s interview was given to the Na Trilha da História program, by Rádio Nacional FM, and can be heard here.
