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Sylvia Rose

Seven Deadly Diseases of the Renaissance

Some graphics may be disturbing.


Disease in the European Renaissance takes a grave toll. Ancient killers include smallpox, malaria, leprosy, the Black Plague, measles, tuberculosis and syphilis. Survivors are often disfigured for life.



sculpture bust with mask

The Renaissance (c. 1350 - 1700 depending on region) is celebrated for resurgence of art, culture and intellectual pursuits. Population expansion, travel and trade, warfare and festivities contribute to the atmosphere of growth and interaction.


Many elements are conducive to spread of disease. In cities, the less financially fortunate are crammed into shoddy housing and drink from the same wells of infected water. Warfare brings famine and pestilence, and disease attacks everyone, regardless of wealth or gender.



mother grave

1. Malaria


Malaria has roots in ancient civilizations. References to its symptoms appear in texts as far back as 400 BCE in Greece. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes, thriving in damp, warm climates.


Causes


Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites, transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. An increase in Renaissance agriculture creates favorable breeding grounds for mosquitoes, especially in marshy, stagnant areas.



Malaria infection & transmission
Malaria infection & transmission

Symptoms


Symptoms typically appear 10 to 15 days after the bite and include fever, chills, sweating, fatigue, and headaches. As the disease progresses, it can lead to severe complications, including anemia and respiratory ailments.


Malaria is prevalent in Renaissance Europe, particularly in marshy areas. Although precise death statistics are difficult to ascertain, it is believed malaria causes thousands of deaths per year in ancient times, contributing to diminished populations and drop in agricultural labor.



mosquitoes are the carriers of malaria
mosquitoes are the carriers of malaria

The Romans believe the disease comes from swamp vapors. Emperor Nero drains swamps around Rome to combat the sickness.


During the Renaissance, treatments are rudimentary at best. Quinine, derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, is used in later centuries. Effective management of malaria is largely absent.


In Florence, Duke Cosimo I of the Medici, founder of the Uffizi, loses both his heirs to malaria, and much of his immediate family to illness and plague. Reclusiveness and depression mark his later years.


2. Leprosy


Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, dates back thousands of years and has been documented in ancient texts from India, Greece, and Egypt. It’s caused by a bacterium and spreads through prolonged contact with an infected person.



Leprosy often leads to disfigurement and blindness
Leprosy often causes disfigurement and blindness

Causes


Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Its exact transmission remains somewhat unclear, though it is believed to spread through respiratory droplets and prolonged close contact.


Symptoms


Leprosy primarily affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes, leading to disfiguring skin lesions, numbness in affected areas, and muscle weakness. Social stigma often results in isolation from communities, leading to psychological stress and depression.


Though leprosy has begun to decline in prominence by the Renaissance, it still instills fear and stigma. Institutionalized leprosy hospitals, known as leprosaria, house thousands of afflicted individuals. In itself leprosy is not fatal, but creates a fertile environment for infection.



Hands disfigured by leprosy
Hands disfigured by leprosy

Various ‘cures’ exist, often involving herbal remedies, purging or bloodletting. Effective treatment is not found until the 20th century. Leprosy elicits fear and stigma during the Renaissance due to its disfiguring effects on the skin, nerves, and respiratory tract.


Leprosy is a lifelong sentence of social ostracism and isolation of those afflicted. Despite advancements in understanding the disease, in the Renaissance leprosy continues to exact a heavy toll. Leper colonies exist until 1957, when the last one, on Crete, is closed.


3. The Bubonic Plague (Black Death)


Originating in Central Asia, the Black Death reaches Europe via trade routes in the mid-14th century. It's one of the greatest catastrophes of the Middle Ages. Plague affects many countries and no one knows how to deal with it.



people with bubonic plague

Causes


Bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is transmitted through fleas infesting rats. Rapid urbanization and trade during the Renaissance facilitate the spread of this disease and cause devastating and recurring epidemics.


Symptoms


Symptoms include sudden fever, chills, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes (buboes). The disease can escalate to septicemic or pneumonic forms, which are often fatal. Death is on the doorstep and fear is contagious.


The consequences of the Black Plague are devastating. An estimated 25 million people or approximately one-third of Europe’s population die within a few years. The societal impact reshapes economies as consumers, suppliers and laborers deal with sickness and death.



Buboes, classic manifestation of bubonic plague
Buboes, classic manifestation of bubonic plague

Treatments during the Renaissance include bloodletting, medicinal herbs, and various superstitions. Quarantines are instituted, beginning 1377 in Croatia. Swift progression and high mortality rates makes the plague one of the most dreaded diseases of the Renaissance.


Doctors notice the survival rate increases after the disease advances enough to swell the buboes until they burst. They begin draining the pus-filled growths and are heartened to see an improvement in recovery.


4. Measles


Measles is a viral infection in existence for centuries. It goes back to ancient Rome, where outbreaks are common.


Causes


Measles is caused by the measles virus morbillivirus, which spreads through respiratory droplets in the air and on surfaces. Its highly contagious nature makes it a formidable foe during the Renaissance when large gatherings are the norm.



baby with measles

Symptoms


Symptoms typically begin with high fever, cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. A distinctive red, blotchy rash appears three to five days after initial symptoms. Complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis can occur, especially in malnourished patients.


Measles poses a serious threat, especially to children, leading to complications and deaths. The Renaissance has frequent epidemics, with mortality rates among infected people reaching as high as 30% in severe cases.


Koplik's spots appear 2-3 days before the measles rash
Koplik's spots appear 2-3 days before the measles rash

Koplik's spots (also Koplik's sign) appear in the mouth two to three days before the measles rash appears. At first they are small pimple-like lesions described as resembling grains of salt against a red background (above). Below is the condition on first day of the measles rash.


Oral infection day of measles appearance
Koplik's Spots oral infection day of measles appearance

Renaissance medicine is ill-equipped to offer effective treatments for measles, focusing largely on supportive care, isolation, and symptoms management. Severe complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis, contribute to the high death toll during this era.


5. Tuberculosis


Tuberculosis (TB) evidence is found in Egyptian mummies. This disease affects the lungs, where the TB bacterium comes to live, as well as brain, spine and kidneys. Not everyone with the tuberculosis germ gets sick.


Causes:


Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is transmitted through the air by coughing or sneezing. Crowded living conditions in urban areas during the Renaissance contribute to the spread of TB.



Egyptian who had tuberculosis

Symptoms


Symptoms include a persistent cough (lasting three weeks or longer), coughing blood, chest pain, weight loss, fatigue, fever, and night sweats. The disease often affects the lungs but can spread to other parts of the body, leading to complications.


TB is rampant in crowded urban centers during the Renaissance. Infected people don't transmit tuberculosis until symptoms show. It's estimated to cause deaths of about 25% of those infected in the middle ages. The bacterium is discovered by Robert Koch in 1882.



Tuberculosis Infection Xray
Tuberculosis Infection X-ray

Treatments are limited through history. Sanatoriums begin to appear in the 19th century. Prior to that, rest, fresh air, and a healthy diet are prescribed, but effective treatments are not developed until the mid-20th century.


6. Smallpox


Smallpox can trace its origins back to ancient Egypt and India, with evidence of its existence over 3,000 years ago. It spread through direct contact and was highly contagious, often leaving survivors scarred for life.



Child with severe smallpox
Child with severe smallpox

Causes


Smallpox is an infectious disease caused by the variola virus. The virus spreads rapidly in crowded conditions and through close contact, which is common in Renaissance cities as populations increase dramatically.


Symptoms


Initial symptoms include fever and malaise, followed by the appearance of a pustular rash that begins on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. The pustules eventually crust over and leave permanent scars.


During the Renaissance, smallpox decimates populations, particularly affecting children and young adults. It is estimated to have killed nearly 400,000 Europeans annually, leading to profound societal impacts, including a decreased labor force and economic strain.



Smallpox research
Smallpox research

This dreaded illness often causes scarring and blindness in survivors. The Renaissance gives rise to early forms of inoculation, with practices emerging in places like China and Turkey. In the late 18th century Edward Jenner develops the first successful smallpox vaccine.


7. Syphilis


Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a bacterium. In his Serpentine Malady (1539) Spanish physician Ruy Díaz de Isla estimates over a million people infected in Europe, or one in seven-eight. In Victorian times, one in five people have syphilis.


During the Renaissance syphilis is very severe. According to historian Jared Diamond,


"[W]hen syphilis was first definitely recorded in Europe in 1495, its pustules often covered the body from the head to the knees, caused flesh to fall from people's faces, and led to death within a few months."


Causes


Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum and primarily spread through sexual contact. The increase in urban population and mobility during the Renaissance contributes to the spread of this sexually transmitted infection.



Treponema pallidum
Treponema pallidum

Symptoms


Syphilis progresses through several stages. Primary syphilis presents as a painless sore (chancre). Secondary syphilis includes a rash, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.


Latent syphilis may remain asymptomatic before potentially progressing to tertiary syphilis. At this point it causes serious damage to organs like the heart and brain. Syphilis becomes an epidemic in Renaissance Europe, with widespread social stigma attached.


Though specific death tolls are hard to pinpoint, estimates suggest thousands suffer severe health consequences. Syphilis infection also strains the immune system, encouraging other potentially fatal diseases.



Preparing and using Guayano (Gum guiacum) a New World tree, to treat syphilis 1590
Preparing and using Guayano (Gum guiacum) a New World tree, to treat syphilis 1590

Cases increase exponentially during the Renaissance. Remedies for syphilis are rudimentary at best, leading to significant suffering and mortality. Early "cures" include mercury baths, harmful and often deadly. Discovery of penicillin in 1928 leads to effective treatment.


Other diseases with an impact on the Renaissance include cholera, scarlet fever (first documented 1533 but considered older), influenza (after 1580), various cancers, fevers and "wasting diseases". Germs are discovered in the 19th century, followed by antiseptic.



antiseptic hand wash

When European hospitals begin to use antiseptic in the late 19th century, staff are thrilled to discover the survival rates after surgery increase dramatically.



Non-Fiction Books:


Fiction Books:

READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series

READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries







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