Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes difficult-to-treat infections in hospitals and communities. The Black Death, which swept through Europe in the 14th century, is the archetypal pestilence, killing an estimated 30% to 60% of the continent's population.
Understanding Novel Pathogen Risks in Susceptible Populations
Furthermore, diseases like cholera, while ancient, continue to cause outbreaks in areas with compromised sanitation, demonstrating that the battle against these pathogens is ongoing. Examples include the Ebola virus, which is believed to reside in fruit bats, and the Nipah virus, transmitted from bats to pigs or directly to humans.
Essentially, a pestilence refers to any highly infectious and deadly epidemic disease, but the scope extends beyond just illness. When bacteria evolve to withstand the drugs designed to kill them, standard treatments fail, turning minor infections into deadly pestilences.
Novel Pathogen Susceptibility in a Vulnerable Population
This evolving landscape means that the definition of a pestilence is changing, driven not just by the pathogen, but by our own inability to fight it. The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the more recent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) both traced their origins to bat coronaviruses that mutated and passed through intermediate hosts like civets or camels.
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