An Introduction of Demography and Disease
Demography is defined as the study of the alteration in numbers of births, deaths, marriages, and cases of the disease in a community or society over a period of time. Hence it is a scientific study of the population. It is derived from the Greek root “demos” which means people and “graphein” which means to draw, write or explain.
The evolution of human culture has demonstrated three key features over the past 10,000 years. These are an increase in complexity in social culture, enhancement in energy flow. And increment in population density and size. All of these features have made significant impacts on health and disease.
Some infectious diseases had spread in the history of the world and changed the course of history. Epidemics and Plagues have affected the lives of humans throughout their existence. Some of the plagues are the yellow fever epidemic, bubonic plague (black death), Spanish Flu, H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic and Ebola epidemic
Concept of Demography
The concept of demography focuses on three phenomenons. These are given below.
Population size or growth: The phenomenon of population growth deals with slow growth, rapid growth as well as population decline.
Population composition: Ethnic, age, sex etc. parameters fall in this category.
Population distribution: Population distribution is related to the percentage of rural, urban and suburban populations.
Effect of Demography on Health
The health of people is affected by the change of demographic phenomenon. The health systems of countries work according to the demographics. Adverse changes in demographics are resulting in higher treatment costs. The number of patients having disease increased due to the increasing population as the living standards, education level and health knowledge decreased. The increased population creates pressure on the environment and food cycle. People living in dense populations have major health issues such as breathing problems, heart disease, lung disease and other issues. The countries having large populations face issues such as shortage of food and poor quality of food, starvation and undernourishment.
Objective of Demography
The objective of the demography is given below.
The top objective of demography is to gain information and statistical data about the density, composition, size and distribution of the population.
Demography is helpful in order to study the trend of growth that describes the evolution of the past, distribution of the present population and future changes in the population of a region.
It is beneficial to describe the trends of the population with social parameters such as education level, employment, living standards, urbanization in a specific region.
Demography targets overcoming the possibility of future disease and its consequences.
Importance of Demography
Some points are mentioned below which describes the importance of the demography.
Demography helps in understanding the rate of growth of the economy with respect to population. If the population growth is faster then the economy of the country will develop slowly. Hence for economic growth study of demography becomes essential.
If the population is growing at a fast rate then it will degrade the standard of living of people and there will be a high probability of diseases that may be fatal and spread disease. In this scenario, the knowledge of demography would be helpful to manage the population.
A balanced population is helpful in order to increase per capita income, increase the employment rate and high living standards etc. Basic services such as electricity, water, transport, health facilities can be provided to all people.
Bubonic Plague
Bubonic plague is an epidemic disease that is spread to human beings by infected fleas that travel on rodents. This disease mostly occurred along trading routes. Historians named this disease “Black Dead”. During the Middle ages, millions of people died because of this disease in Europe. It can be prevented by reducing exposure to rats, mice, squirrels and other infected animals.
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It was caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. This bacteria is observed in rodent populations which are spread by fleas that had bitten infected animals. The disease is transferred from animals to humans and then transmitted from humans to humans and spread along established trade routes. The exact fatality count of the plague of the historical period is not available due to limited records. But it is estimated by historians that around somewhere between 30% and 60% of the population of Europe died because of Balck death.
Effects of the plague
The effect of the black death is focused on Europe. It also impacted Asia. In comparison to China, Europe had a smaller population. It damaged China more than Europe in terms of death. It spread throughout the Middle East and South Asia by trade in the Indian Ocean.
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The exact number of deaths is not available due to the lack of clear records but according to the estimation by historians, the Black Death killed around 30% to 60% of the population of Europe. The death rate of bubonic plague varies from region to region. Some areas witnessed a high rate of mortality on the other side some regions remained almost untouched by the disease as the disease was not spread there. The fear caused by the bubonic plague sometimes led to violence, in some areas due to the unavailability of a lack of medical information and facilities.
Do you know?
In archaeological findings, Yersinia pestis ( bacteria that causes bubonic plague) has been discovered from the Late Bronze Age. The ancient DNA present in the teeth of humans is helpful in identifying this bacteria from Asia and Europe that dated around 2,800 to 5,000 years ago.
The Bubonic Plague is also known as the Great Mortality. This terminology is derived from medieval chronicles’ use of Magna mortalitas.
Conclusion
We get to know about the key concepts of disease and demography. In the modern world, demography should be well managed. This is the only way to manage population and economic development hand in hand. Medical awareness and facilities are essential to deal with epidemic diseases. In the medieval time, people were not aware of medical knowledge hence they faced fatal diseases like the bubonic plague.
FAQs on Disease and Demography
1. What are black death symptoms?
The symptoms of Bubonic plague or black death include sudden high fever and chills, pain in the abdomen area, arms and legs, severe headaches. The major symptoms are swollen and large lumps in the lymph nodes (buboes) that later develop and leak pus. Some other black death symptoms are shivering, painful limbs, vomiting, giddiness, intolerance to light and sleeplessness. People may have additional trouble breathing and cough up blood.
2. How can bubonic plague be prevented?
Some precautionary steps must be taken to prevent black death or Bubonic plague. In Modern days such homes and yards should be inhospitable to rodents such as rats, squirrels, mice and other wild animals. The hidden place where rodents can hide should be removed. Flea control products should be used for pet animals and animals that roam freely anywhere. Sick pets must be taken to the veterinarian immediately. While handling the dead animals protective clothing such as masks and gloves must be used.
