Intro
Preface
Introduction
Zoonosis and Pandemics
Pandemics: The Price of Progress
Acknowledgments
Contents
Abbreviations
1: The First 1000 Years CE of Pandemics: Smallpox and Plague
Introduction
The Antonine Plague: Smallpox (165-190 CE)
Description of the Disease
Propagation of the Disease
Perception of the Disease in the Roman Empire
Fatality Rates
Attempts for Treatments
Justinian Plague (541-749 CE)
The Origin and Propagation of the Pandemic
The Pandemic and the Yersinia pestis Bacteria

The High Fatality Rate of the Justinian Plague
Justinian Plague and Climate Change
The Social and Cultural Impact of the Justinian Pest
Justinian Plague and the Divine Punishment
Japanese Smallpox Epidemic (733-737 CE)
The Disease Outbreak and Propagation
The Impact of the Japanese Smallpox on Society
References
2: The Plagues Pandemics: 2000 Years of Recurrent Devastations: The Black Death
Introduction
The Disease and Bacteria Yersinia pestis
The Plague Zoonosis
The Clinical Characteristics of the Plague
The Black Death (1346-1353)

The Initial Conditions: When Asia Meets Europe in Caffa
The Tartar Horsemen and the Black Death
The Biological Warfare Attack and the Consequences
Escaping Hell: The Propagation Towards Europe Through the Mediterranean
The Black Death Arrives in Italy: The Implementation of Quarantine
The Black Death Strikes Stronger in the United Kingdom
The Search for Cause and Remedies During the Black Death
The Miasma Theory
The Plague Doctors
The Search for Redemption
The Black Death and the Blame on Others
The Aftermath of the Black Death
The Third Plague Pandemic

The Plague in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: The Endemic Situation
Global Distribution of Natural Plague Foci
Treatment
The Plague and the Antibiotic Resistance Problem
References
3: Outbreaks in the New World: 1492-Mid-Nineteenth Century
Introduction
Features of Infectious Disease Outbreaks in the New World
The Indigenous Populations of the New World Experienced Disease Outbreaks Before the Europeans Arrived
There Was a Large Scale of Deaths Which Affected the Indigenous Populations of the New World
There Were Many Diseases Introduced into the New World

There Were Multiple Sources of Disease Outbreaks
There Were Multiple Outbreaks of the Same Disease
The Native Populations Were Not Passive Victims of Disease
There Was Transmission of Disease from the New World to Europe
Disease Was Used as a Weapon in Conflicts in the New World
The Colonial Administrations Used Variolation and Vaccination to Fight Smallpox
Conclusion
References
4: Syphilis, Cholera, and Yellow Fever
Syphilis: The Great Pretender
General Considerations
The Zoonotic Theory of Syphilis and the Climate
Syphilis: The Great Pretender