Epidemic Diseases and Their Impact on Civilizations Throughout History, Part I

From antiquity to today, epidemic diseases have devastated nations and their populations. Repeatedly, they have had broad ranging consequences for societies in the economic, social, cultural, and governmental realms. In Part I, we will show how the histories of syphilis and AIDS illustrate the extent of this epidemic impact, how civilizations become vulnerable to epidemics, and refractory to human efforts to eradicate them. Groundbreaking therapies developed for syphilis and AIDS have demonstrated the potential of biomedical innovations. Public health programs based on these advances, however, have not met their goals. 

In Part II next spring, we will discuss how Public Health programs must also address mistrust in science, government indifference, stigma, and racial inequalities. AIDS and syphilis elimination campaigns, like those of Covid, have not adequately addressed how these diseases persist unevenly in populations according to race, ethnicity, and geographic location. While biomedical breakthroughs are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases, sustained focus and resources aimed at helping the most socially and economically vulnerable are essential.

Powel Kazanjian, M.D., Ph.D., is an infectious diseases doctor and medical historian. He has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Harvard (M.A., History of Science), Tufts (M.D.), and at the University of Michigan (Ph.D., History), where he is an Emeritus Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of History. Powel’s medical background and historical training have enabled a multidisciplinary approach to his teaching and scholarship. His courses on the “History of Epidemics,” “Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” and “Doctor in Society” provide a comprehensive lens to view the impact that epidemic diseases have had on societies throughout history.