AI Article Synopsis
- The number of epidemics and mortality rates from diseases in Amsterdam significantly decreased from 1554 to 2021, particularly for illnesses like plague, smallpox, and cholera.
- This decline coincided with reductions in chronic mortality from diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, and dysentery, suggesting improvements in public health.
- Factors contributing to these positive changes include better nutrition, increased wealth, greater compassion, and a deeper understanding of health, though ongoing social crises still pose risks.
Article Abstract
Between 1554 and 2021, the number of and mortality from epidemics in Amsterdam decreased sharply. The decrease in epidemic outbreaks, such as those of plague, smallpox and cholera, paralleled the decrease in chronic mortality from endemic ailments and diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria and dysentery. There are several theories about the reason for these declines, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive: better nutrition, greater prosperity, increasing altruism, and a growing understanding of cause and effect with targeted medical and public health measures. In the powder keg of chronic poverty and poor public health, a social crisis, such as war, migration, and natural disaster, usually was the spark that led to epidemic outbreaks. The nature and extent of poverty and ill health have changed and improved over the centuries, but the threat of man-made crises is unfortunately unabated.
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