Europes Population (PDF)
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CHAPTER 6The effects of the HIV epidemic on the population of Europe (p. 62-63)
MARKKU LÖYTÖNEN
Infectious diseases and population growth
The principle of population dynamics declares that it is environmental factors such as changes in physical conditions, food supplies and the occurrence of natural enemies that determine the number of an animal species in existence in a given area at a given point in time, and that these factors vary all the time, as the organic and inorganic environment is in a constant state of change. Every change that takes place in a species living conditions is reflected in its numbers. Examined over a period of time, this takes the form of a constant search for a state of equilibrium, which in an undisturbed situation would result in a fluctuation around a certain average figure.
In the course of its endeavours to create a favourable environment for itself, human society has systematically attempted to prevent the spread of epidemics. Even so, the causes of such disasters were still unknown in the early nineteenth century, and it may be said that they were thus the last factors effectively limiting human population growth. Many of the advanced cultures of prehistoric times were obliged to carry on a bitter struggle for existence against the repeated threats posed by epidemics. Later the most serious outbreaks of the plague in Europe can be identified in the population growth curve for the continent in the form of distinct dips in total population figures. Similarly it is claimed that wars have often been more destructive through the accompanying spread of disease than in terms of the lives lost in the fighting itself (Cliff & Haggett 1988).
At the micro level, an imbalance comparable to the laws of population dynamics prevails between humankind and the micro-organisms that bring about diseases. Viruses, bacteria and other microbes are constantly altering their genetic make-up in
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search of new properties that will give them a hold over the human body, which has often become able to resist their attacks by virtue of its immune defence mechanism. This is a complex system that is able to acquire more effective means of combating disease agents which have attacked it previously. This means that a population which has had experience of a wide range of micro-organisms may be able to defend itself more readily than one which has been living in isolation. But it also means that a new cause of disease that appears from elsewhere will frequently lead to a serious epidemic on account of the populations lack of immunity to it.
When America was "discovered" in 1492, military power was scarcely needed to conquer the new continent, as far more native Americans died of the infectious diseases brought by the European soldiers than by the force of arms. And these native Americans in return gave the Europeans syphilis, which was a common but mild complaint in the Americas but which caused a serious epidemic lasting for several hundred years when it reached Europe. Like syphilis, cholera, influenza, tuberculosis and many other microbial diseases have served to control human populations for as long as the human race has existed (Ratledge et al. 1989).
The discovery in the second half of the nineteenth century of the micro-organisms responsible for these diseases was a scientific breakthrough that revolutionized our concepts of many human illnesses. It meant that the causes of infectious diseases could be pinpointed and progress could be made in their treatment, in the sense that for the first time in the history of humankind it was known what agent was responsible for the plague, for example. Since that time, improved hygiene, antibiotics, inoculations and many other basic techniques of modern medicine have proved effective in combating infections, perhaps the best example of which lies in the total elimination of smallpox as a result of the international vaccination campaign.
When America was "discovered" in 1492, military power was scarcely needed to conquer the new continent, as far more native Americans died of the infectious diseases brought by the European soldiers than by the force of arms. And these native Americans in return gave the Europeans syphilis, which was a common but mild complaint in the Americas but which caused a serious epidemic lasting for several hundred years when it reached Europe. Like syphilis, cholera, influenza, tuberculosis and many other microbial diseases have served to control human populations for as long as the human race has existed (Ratledge et al. 1989).
The discovery in the second half of the nineteenth century of the micro-organisms responsible for these diseases was a scientific breakthrough that revolutionized our concepts of many human illnesses. It meant that the causes of infectious diseases could be pinpointed and progress could be made in their treatment, in the sense that for the first time in the history of humankind it was known what agent was responsible for the plague, for example. Since that time, improved hygiene, antibiotics, inoculations and many other basic techniques of modern medicine have proved effective in combating infections, perhaps the best example of which lies in the total elimination of smallpox as a result of the international vaccination campaign.
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Bibliographische Angaben
- 1995, Englisch
- Herausgegeben: Paul White, Ray Hall
- ISBN-10: 0203975413
- ISBN-13: 9780203975411
- Erscheinungsdatum: 29.06.1995
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