Is the Ebola outbreak the big one? Is it more powerful than the Black Plague?
Dr. Ewa Bacon, professor of history at Lewis University, compares the current Ebola situation to the “Black Death” in the 14th century.In her blog post “Ebola: the Black Death Revisited” she compares the two diseases as well as the emotional reaction. “There is no rational reason to fear Ebola in the developed world. Unlike our fore-fathers of the 14th century, we know the source of contagion and have methods to deal with it,” Bacon says. Bacon reminds us that Ebola is not a pandemic. The Black Plaque killed 40 percent of Europeans.
She adds perspective about current threats, “After all, tens of thousands of people die annually from influenza or from hepatitis or from MRSA.”
Read more at http://www.lewisu.edu/experts/wordpress/index.php/ebola-the-black-death-revisited/ about the historical comparison between Black Death and Ebola.
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