6 Disease Breakouts That Changed the Course of History

What percentage of the European population was estimated to have died during the Black Death in the Middle Ages?

• Less than 10%

• About 1/3

• More than 3/4

• Almost all of it

How is the plague typically transmitted to humans?

• Through tiny droplets in the air from coughing.

• By direct contact with infected sores.

• From bites of fleas carried by rodents.

• Through contaminated food and water.

Why was smallpox particularly deadly for Native American populations when Europeans arrived?

• They had weaker immune systems than Europeans.

• Their immune systems were adapted to local diseases, not foreign ones.

• They had no access to traditional medicines.

• The virus mutated to be more aggressive in the Americas.

What was the process called that involved intentionally infecting people with a less harmful virus to build immunity against smallpox?

• Antibiotic treatment

• Quarantine

• Vaccination

• Variolation

What discovery by Dr. Paul Ehrlich led to the idea of chemotherapy?

• Certain dyes bonded only to specific types of cells.

• Bacteria could be killed by strong acids.

• Healthy tissues were immune to all chemicals.

• All diseases could be cured with a single compound.

How did Dr. John Snow help stop a cholera outbreak in London in 1854?

• He developed a vaccine for cholera.

• He discovered that cholera was caused by "bad air."

• He traced the outbreak to a single contaminated water pump.

• He created a new medicine to cure the disease.

What method was used to control the spread of Yellow Fever during the construction of the Panama Canal?

• Developing a new antibiotic to treat infected workers.

• Draining pools of water and covering others with oil.

• Quarantining all workers who showed symptoms of the disease.

• Providing workers with special masks to filter the air.

Why is hemophilia often called the "Royal Disease"?

• It only affects people of royal bloodlines.

• It was a common illness among European royal families due to intermarriage.

• Only kings and queens could afford treatment for it.

• It was first discovered by a royal physician.