Public health generally refers to a function of
government in the prevention or spread of disease among the its
population through the use of public education, regulations,
epidemiology, and
statistical tools. It promotes not simply the absence of disease but
mental, physical, and emotional well-being. In many ways, it is largely a
modern concept, although it has roots in antiquity.In order for public
health policies and programs to develop, it was necessary for governments to
gain some understanding of the causes of disease.
Early on, it was recognized that polluted
water and lack
of proper
waste disposal were implicated in spreading
vector-borne diseases. By Roman times, it was well-understood that proper
diversion of human waste was a necessary tenet of public health in urban
areas.
The Chinese developed the practice of
variolation following a smallpox epidemic around 1,000 B.C. Inhaling the
dried crusts of lesions or later,
innoculation of a scratch on the forearms of chidren with the pus from a
lesion. This practice was not documented in the West until the early 1700's
and was utilized on a very limited basis. The practice of
vaccination did not become prevalent until the 1820's, following the work
of
Edward Jenner.
During the 14th century
Black
Death in
Europe, it was believed that removing the bodies would prevent further
spread of the disease. Unfortunately, this did little to stem the plague,
which was spread by
rodent-borne
fleas. Burning
areas of cities resulted in much greater benefit, since it removed the rodent
infestations.
The science of epidemiology was founded by
John Snow's
identification of a polluted public water well as the cause of an 1854
cholera
outbreak in London. John believed in the
germ
theory of disease as opposed to the prevailing
miasma
theory, which taught correctly that disease was a result of poor sanitation,
but was based only upon the prevailing theory of
spontaneous generation. This was the case, even though Redi showed in the
17th century that fly eggs were required for maggots to be generated in dung
heaps and
Lazzaro Spallanzani, in 1768, proved that
microbes came from the air, and that regeneration could be prevented by
boiling in a hermetically sealed container.
Microorganisms were first observed around 1680 by
Anton van Leeuwenhoek, but it was not until the 1880's, that the
culmination of the germ theory of
Robert
Koch and
Louis_Pasteur and the production of artificial
vaccines,
revolutionized the study of infectious disease and introduced the modern era
of public health.
Now most governments recognize the importance of public health programs in
reducing the incidence of disease, disability, and the effects of aging.
Public health programs providing vaccinations have in recent years have
successfully all but eradicated smallpox. Certainly, one of the most important
public health issues of the present is that of
AIDS.
See also
References
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