| AIDS vs. the Black Death By Rachael Brinegar Many people from many different races and religions have asked, and have been asked, this impossible question; "If God is so merciful, then how can horrible diseases affect an innocent child and unscathe the people who deserve to have them? Why does He allow nature to kill off those who are supposedly 'weaker' if He also proclaims that all are equal in His eyes? Why do innocent people have to suffer for something they can't control?" These questions and ones like it have plagued the human consciousness for a long time, but they came to a height at the beginning of the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death. As it happened in the early 14th century, the question has been brought up to the public's realization again since the recent outbreak of HIV and AIDS in the 1990s. Between these two horrible diseases, there are many similarities, and though some may disagree, I believe that the Black Death is the worse of the two. My reasons for believing this are that even though AIDS has killed very close to the number of people that the Plague did, the Plague spread much faster. The Plague kills much faster, too; it only takes three to five days for the Palgue to kill. Another reason why I think the Plague was worse is because people had absolutley no way of stopping it. The medicine and technology were very undeveloped, unlike today. When the Black Death was spread from the city of Caffa on the Black Sea in 1345 to all over Europe, the death rate had spread enourmously; nearly one third of the population of Europe had been depleted. It's true that it took many years for this to happen, but accounts have been made in cities near the beginning of the European epidemic that over five years in one city alone, more than 900,000 people died from the Plague. In Messina, it only took one week for the entire city to be infected. Sub-Saharan Africa, by contrast, is spread over a much larger area. In most African countries, there is an average of 10 - 15% of people who are infected with AIDS. It must be kept in mind that AIDS has been in Africa since the 50's and 60's, except it was not diagnosed as AIDS or HIV. It was called the slim disease or iyoyo, which means "that thing" in Zimbabwe. The Bubonic Plague was spread by hungry fleas on infected rats that boarded trading ships from Asia to Europe. The fleas drank the blood of the rat infected with the Plague. They then traveled on the rats from the boats into the cities of Europe and bit people, giving them the disease. The medieval people of the Dark Ages were surrounded constantly by filth and various other types of diseases. Since the living conditions were much less than sanitary, the rats ran rampant, thus giving the fleas opportunities to widen thier diet by biting humans. People lived in very close quarters, and since the disease was spread by fleas, the Plague spread very rapidly. Once a person was bitten, the lymph nodes around the groin and neck would swell and create gigantic blackish blue inflammations, called buboes. This and other symptoms such as headaches, fever, chills, and in the most severe cases, a rash on the skin, characterized the Black Death. Once a person was bitten, it took a week or so for the lymph nodes to swell, and after that, only a few days remained before the infected person died. In contrast, HIV is spread only through sexual contact with another person, so it is somewhat harder to get than a disease like the Plague. HIV attacks and kills T-cells with a protien called CD4 on it. These cells are the main defender against diseases, so the body doesn't actually die from full blown AIDS, it dies from other diseases that the immune system is too weak to fight off. That means it could be weeks, months, or even years before a person with AIDS dies. The Bubonic plague wreaked havoc in the Middle Ages. Dead corpses lined the streets and were carted off to be thrown into mass graves. Even animals felt its effects. Dogs and wild animals feasted off the dead bodies whenever the opportunity arose, only to die from the Plague and spread it further. An eyewitness named Henry Knighton reported about 5,000 sheep dead in one field alone. The reason why the Black Death spread so fast and killed so many was because the people of the time had no idea how to properly defend themselves from the disease. All they knew that was correct that was anyone who got near an infected person died soon afterward. Other than that, they had no idea where it came from, what really caused it, and they certainly had no idea how to defend themselves against it besides running away, which only spread it further. The Pope's scientific advisor, Guy (GEE) Deshiliac, suggested that when black rain clouds, fireballs (besides the sun), or falling stars appeared in the sky, the Plague was near. He most likely got those ideas from what people thought they saw before a loved one or a neighbor came down with the Plague. This doesn't make it true, of course, but it puts into perspective what kind of technology they had in the Middle Ages and what we have now. In today's world, we have medicine that can treat the symptoms of HIV and AIDS, although these medicines are not widely used in Africa because of the extremely high price. They could be sold as low as two American dollars a day, but most Africans only make ten dollars in an entire year. Even though the medicine is not available to most Africans now, there are prevention programs that provide condoms and education about safe sex in countries like Senegal and Uganda. The estimated price for the United States to provide money for education, condoms, and medicine is at about $1.5 billion each year. (This is nothing compared to the 90 billion that may be spent on the upcoming war). Steps by the Bush administration are already being made to help African countries in desperate need. Also, as time goes by, we may be able to find an actual cure for HIV and AIDS in the near future because of all the emphasis on the disiease. The effects of both these terrible diseases have been felt around the world by many, many people. Though both have wreaked havoc on the world, the Plague has had a greater effect in my opinion. But on a religious scale, why have these terrible diseases been allowed to run rampant? Some would say, "That's just the way it is," and others would think, "These are simply God's tests for the world." It is my personal belief that people are allowed to grow through these epidemics. The survivors, eventually, will be able to live in better conditions and develop new ways of thinking, such as after the main effects of the Plague. Even though we can look back in history and see these effects, the silver lining of the African AIDS epidemic is not yet apparent. Will history once again repeat itself and the same effects of the European Plague happen to Africa? Or will something new and completly unforseen change the face of Africa and possibly the entire world? As the saying goes, "Only time will tell." |