Here, it decimated the populations of Indigenous peoples. Colonialism and the slave trade then transported smallpox from Portugal to western Africa, and then across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, North America, and South America. The wars known as the Crusades brought smallpox to northern Europe in the 11th century. Trade gave it the opportunity to spread to Korea and Japan by the 6th century, while the growth of empires meant that it spread through the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, and Portugal. Human activities allowed the variola virus to spread to different countries and regions over the centuries. Historians believe that the first written description of smallpox comes from 4th century China. This virus is a member of the orthopoxvirus family, which also includes cowpox and monkeypox. Experts do not know where it originated, but - based on the presence of smallpox-like rashes on some ancient Egyptian mummies - they estimate that it existed for about 3,000 years. Smallpox was a serious contagious disease that affected humans until the late 20th century.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |