Over twenty pandemics or epidemics have plagued mankind in the course of human history. This course will review the prehistoric epidemic (circa 3000 BC), the ten plagues of Egypt, the Plague of Athens, the Black Death, the Great Plague of London, the Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, The Great Influenza of 1918, Polio, AIDS, SARS, MERS and COVID. There will be a brief review of basic immunology, how and when vaccines were developed (much longer ago than you may think), and the way vaccines work. An analysis of why we were so unprepared for COVID will inform a discussion of how we can better prepare for future pandemics. We will also talk about pandemics as tools of bioterrorism. A suggested reading list will be provided, but no outside reading will be required for the course.
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