This non-fiction article dives into the terrifying story of the bubonic plague – how it wiped out up to half of Europe’s population and, surprisingly, ended up giving the survivors a better deal in life.
黑死病是人类历史上最可怕的传染病之一。十四世纪中期，这场瘟疫席卷了整个欧洲，夺走了数千万人的生命。有历史学家估计，当时欧洲三分之一到一半的人口因此死亡。
黑死病是由一种叫做鼠疫杆菌的细菌引起的。这种细菌主要通过老鼠身上的跳蚤传播给人类。十四世纪的欧洲城市非常脏乱，老鼠到处都是，所以疾病传播得非常快。病人首先会发烧，然后身上出现又黑又大的肿块，非常痛苦。大多数病人在几天之内就会死去。因为这些黑色的肿块，人们把这场瘟疫叫做”黑死病”。
黑死病最早出现在中亚，然后沿着商路传到了欧洲。1347年，几艘来自黑海的船到达了意大利的西西里岛。船上的水手不是已经死了，就是病得快死了。人们虽然把船赶走了，但是已经太晚了。瘟疫很快在整个欧洲蔓延开来。
那个时候，人们不知道疾病是怎么传播的。很多人认为这是上帝对人类的惩罚。医生们也不知道怎么治疗，只能眼睁睁地看着病人死去。有些人逃到乡下，希望远离城市就可以逃过瘟疫。但是很多人无论逃到哪里，还是被感染了。
黑死病对欧洲社会产生了巨大的影响。因为死了太多人，农村没有足够的工人种田，城市也没有足够的工人做工。这反而让活下来的普通人有了更多的力量——他们可以要求更高的工资，更好的生活条件。一些历史学家认为，黑死病间接推动了欧洲社会的变革，甚至影响了后来文艺复兴的到来。
今天，鼠疫依然存在，但是现代医学已经可以用抗生素治疗它。黑死病这样的大规模传播已经不太可能再发生了。但是这段历史提醒我们，传染病的力量是非常可怕的，人类永远不应该忽视公共卫生的重要性。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 传染病 | chuánrǎnbìng | infectious disease |
| 瘟疫 | wēnyì | plague/epidemic |
| 细菌 | xìjūn | bacteria |
| 跳蚤 | tiàozao5 | flea |
| 肿块 | zhǒngkuài | swelling/lump |
| 蔓延 | mànyán | to spread/to extend |
| 惩罚 | chéngfá | punishment |
| 感染 | gǎnrǎn | to infect/infection |
| 变革 | biàngé | transformation/reform |
| 抗生素 | kàngshēngsù | antibiotics |
| 黑死病 | hēi sǐ bìng | bubonic plague; Black Death |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 类 | lěi | kind; type; class; category; (bound form) to resemble; to be similar to |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 可怕 | kě pà | awful; dreadful; fearful; formidable; frightful; scary; hideous; horrible; terrible; terribly |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 之一 | zhī yī | one of (sth); one out of a multitude; one (third, quarter, percent etc) |
| 十四 | shí sì | fourteen; 14 |
| 世纪 | shì jì | century |
| 中期 | zhōng qī | middle (of a period of time); medium-term (plan, forecast etc) |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 席 | xī | mat; seat; banquet; (classifier) |
| 卷 | juán | to roll up; (slang) to compete to an unhealthy degree; hypercompetitive; classifier for small rolled-up things (wad of paper money, movie reel etc) |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 欧 | Oū | Europe (abbr. for 歐洲|欧洲[Ou1 zhou1]); European Union (abbr. for 歐盟|欧盟[Ou1 meng2]); surname Ou |
| 洲 | zhou | continent |
| 夺 | duō | to seize; to wrest control of; to force one's way through; to lose |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 数 | shǔ | to count; to count as; to regard as; to enumerate; to list |
| 千万 | qiān wàn | ten million; countless; many; one must by all means |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 命 | mǐng | life; order or command |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 学 | xué | to learn; to study; to imitate; science; -ology |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 估 | gu | to estimate |
| 计 | Jì | surname Ji |
| 当时 | dāng shí | then; at that time |
| 三分 | sān fēn | somewhat; to some degree |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 一半 | yī bàn | half |
| 人口 | rén kǒu | population; people |
| 因此 | yīn cǐ | thus; consequently; as a result |
| 死亡 | sǐ wáng | to die; death |
| 由 | yóu | to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through; (before a noun and a verb) it is for ... to ... |
| 一种 | yī zhǒng | one kind of; one type of |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 鼠 | shǔ | (bound form) rat; mouse |
| 疫 | yǐ | (bound form) epidemic; plague |
| 杆 | gan | (bound form) pole; shaft |
| 菌 | jun | (bound form) bacterium; Taiwan pr. [jun4] |
| 引起 | yǐn qǐ | to give rise to; to lead to; to cause; to arouse |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 主要 | zhǔ yào | main; principal; major; primary |
| 通过 | tōng guò | to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation); to pass (a test); by means of; through; via |
| 老鼠 | lǎo shǔ | rat; mouse (CL:隻|只[zhi1]) |
| 身上 | shēn shang | on the body; at hand; among |
| 传 | chuān | to pass on; to transmit; to transfer; to conduct (electricity) |
| 播 | bō | (bound form) to sow (seeds); to spread (ideas, rumors etc); to broadcast (radio signals etc); Taiwan pr. [bo4] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 城市 | chéng shì | city; town; CL:座[zuo4] |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 脏 | zàng | viscera; (anatomy) organ; dirty; filthy; to get (sth) dirty |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 到处 | dào chù | everywhere |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 疾病 | jí bìng | disease; sickness; ailment |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 病人 | bìng rén | sick person; patient; invalid; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 首先 | shǒu xiān | first of all; in the first place |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 发 | fā | to send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds); hair; Taiwan pr. [fa3] |
| 烧 | shāo | to burn; to set on fire; to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc); to braise; to cook; to prepare food; to run a fever; fever; (coll.) to become full of oneself; to get carr… |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 出现 | chū xiàn | to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 黑 | Hēi | short name for Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江[Hei1 long2 jiang1] |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 痛 | tòng | ache; pain; sorrow; deeply; thoroughly |
| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 大多数 | dà duō shù | (great) majority |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 几天 | jǐ tiān | several days |
| 之内 | zhī nèi | inside; within |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 死去 | sǐ qù | to die |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 黑色 | hēi sè | black |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 早 | zǎo | early; morning; Good morning!; long ago; prematurely |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 亚 | Yà | Asia; Asian; Taiwan pr. [Ya3] |
| 沿着 | yán zhe | to go along; to follow |
| 商 | Shāng | Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang |
| 路 | Lù | surname Lu |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 艘 | sou | classifier for ships |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 自黑 | zì hēi | (slang) to self-deprecate; to make fun of oneself |
| 海 | Hǎi | surname Hai |
| 船 | chuán | variant of 船[chuan2]; boat; vessel; ship; CL:條|条[tiao2],艘[sou1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 到达 | dào dá | to reach; to arrive |
| 意大利 | Yì dà lì | Italy |
| 西西里 | Xī xī lǐ | Sicily; Sicilia (Italian Island) |
| 岛 | dǎo | variant of 島|岛[dao3]; island; CL:個|个[ge4],座[zuo4] |
| 水手 | shuǐ shǒu | sailor; seaman; mariner |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 病 | bìng | illness; CL:場|场[chang2]; disease; to fall ill; defect |
| 虽然 | suī rán | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) |
| 赶走 | gǎn zǒu | to drive out; to turn back |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 晚 | wǎn | evening; night; late |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 认为 | rèn wéi | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 帝 | dǐ | (bound form) emperor; sovereign; supreme deity |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 医生 | yī shēng | doctor; medical practitioner |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 治 | zhì | to rule; to govern; to manage; to control; to harness (a river); to treat (a disease); to wipe out (a pest); to punish; to research |
| 疗 | liáo | to treat; to cure; therapy |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 眼 | yǎn | eye (CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1]); (often used with 一[yi1]) a look; a glance; small hole; (bound form) salient point; classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc |
| 睁 | zheng | to open (one's eyes) |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 有些人 | yǒu xiē rén | some people |
| 逃 | tāo | to escape; to flee |
| 乡 | xiang | country or countryside; home village or town |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 希 | xī | to hope; to admire; variant of 稀[xi1] |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 远离 | yuǎn lí | to be far from; to keep away from |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 无论 | wú lùn | no matter what or how; regardless of whether... |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 社会 | shè huì | society |
| 产生 | chǎn shēng | to arise; to come into being; to come about; to give rise to; to bring into being; to bring about; to produce; to engender; to generate |
| 巨大 | jù dà | huge; immense; enormous; gigantic |
| 影响 | yǐng xiǎng | influence; effect; to influence; to affect (usually adversely); to disturb; CL:股[gu3] |
| 农 | Nóng | surname Nong; variant of 農|农[nong2] |
| 村 | cūn | village; (dialect) to scold; rustic; boorish; variant of 村[cun1] |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 足够 | zú gòu | enough; sufficient |
| 工人 | gōng rén | worker; CL:個|个[ge4],名[ming2] |
| 种田 | zhòng tián | to farm; farming |
| 工 | gōng | work; worker; skill; profession; trade; craft; labor |
| 反而 | fǎn ér | on the contrary; instead |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 普 | pú | general; everywhere |
| 通人 | tōng rén | learned person; person of wide knowledge and sound scholarship |
| 有了 | yǒu le | I've got a solution!; to have a bun in the oven (abbr. for 有了胎[you3 le5 tai1]) |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 力量 | lì liang | power; force; strength |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 求 | qíu | to seek; to look for; to request; to demand; to beseech |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 工资 | gōng zī | wages; pay; CL:份[fen4] |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 一些 | yī xiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 间接 | jiàn jiē | indirect |
| 推动 | tuī dòng | to push (e.g. for acceptance of a plan); to promote; to give impetus to |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 文 | Wén | surname Wen |
| 艺 | yì | skill; art |
| 复兴 | fù xīng | to revive; to rejuvenate |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 依 | yi | to depend on; according to |
| 存 | cún | to exist; to deposit; to store; to keep; to survive |
| 现代 | Xiàn dài | Hyundai, South Korean company |
| 医学 | yī xué | medicine; medical science; study of medicine |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 规 | guī | variant of 規|规[gui1]; compass; a rule; regulation; to admonish; to plan; to scheme |
| 模 | mō | to imitate; norm |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 发生 | fā shēng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 段 | Duàn | surname Duan |
| 提醒 | tí xǐng | to remind; to call attention to; to warn of |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 是非 | shì fēi | right and wrong; quarrel |
| 常 | Cháng | surname Chang |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever; eternal |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 忽视 | hū shì | to neglect; to overlook; to disregard; to ignore |
| 公共 | gōng gòng | public; common; communal |
| 卫生 | wèi shēng | hygienic; sanitary; hygiene; sanitation |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 性 | xǐng | nature; property; attribute; sex; suffix forming adjective from verb; essence |
The Black Death was one of the most terrifying infectious diseases in human history. In the mid-14th century, this plague swept across all of Europe, claiming the lives of tens of millions of people. Some historians estimate that between one-third and one-half of Europe’s population died as a result.
The Black Death was caused by a type of bacteria called Yersinia pestis (the plague bacillus). This bacteria was mainly transmitted to humans through fleas on rats. European cities in the 14th century were extremely dirty and chaotic, with rats everywhere, so the disease spread very quickly. Patients would first develop a fever, then large black swellings would appear on their bodies, causing extreme suffering. Most patients would die within a few days. Because of these black swellings, people called this plague the “Black Death.”
The Black Death first appeared in Central Asia, then spread to Europe along trade routes. In 1347, several ships from the Black Sea arrived at the island of Sicily in Italy. The sailors on board were either already dead or dying from illness. Although people drove the ships away, it was already too late. The plague quickly spread throughout all of Europe.
At that time, people did not know how diseases spread. Many believed this was God’s punishment on humanity. Doctors also did not know how to treat it and could only watch helplessly as patients died. Some people fled to the countryside, hoping that staying away from cities would help them escape the plague. But many people, no matter where they fled, still became infected.
The Black Death had an enormous impact on European society. Because so many people died, there were not enough workers in rural areas to farm the land, and cities also lacked enough workers. This actually gave the surviving common people more power – they could demand higher wages and better living conditions. Some historians believe that the Black Death indirectly promoted social change in Europe and even influenced the later arrival of the Renaissance.
Today, the plague still exists, but modern medicine can now treat it with antibiotics. A large-scale outbreak like the Black Death is unlikely to happen again. However, this piece of history reminds us that the power of infectious diseases is extremely terrifying, and humanity should never ignore the importance of public health.