District Governor Adrian Froggart's Chain Mail (Issue 9, March 2020) was distributed to all members by email and arrived at 12.12 pm on Wednesday, 1 April.

 

This email contains a vast array of information which is both important and informative. If you haven't already taken the time to read Adrian's Chain mail, you are urged to so do now.

In this day and age of instant communications and government preparedness to do "whatever it takes" to prevent as many people as possible from being infected or dying from the COVID-19 virus, we shouldn't lose sight of past pandemics, many of which caused catastrophic loss of life, AND ALL OF WHICH WERE OVERCOME!

 

The Plague of Justinian in 541 Ad was first identified in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, having been carried over the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt. That plague decimated Constantinople and spread like wildfire across Europe, North Africa and Arabia killing around 30 to 50 million people, estimated to be half of the then population of the world.

 

The Black Death, which resulted in the introduction of quarantine, was a version of the same plague which struck Europe 800 year later in 1347 and killed with reckless abandon. Over a four year period it is estimated that over 200 million deaths occurred.

 

The Great Plague of London occurred after the Black Death plague, which had resurfaced in that city every 20 years or so between 1348 and 1665, struck with great loss of life in 1665. With each new epidemic every 20 years any number up to 20% of the English capital's population died. The 1665 outbreak was the last and worst with over 100,000 people dying in a seven month period. All public entertainment was banned and victims were shut in their homes (quarantined) to prevent the spread of the disease.

 

Over centuries, Smallpox was endemic to Europe and a persistent menace that is estimated to have killed up to 30% of the population. In the newly opened Americas it is estimated that Smallpox killed over 90% of the indigenous population in what is now Mexico and the United States, because those native peoples had zero natural immunity to it. In the late 18th Century, Smallpox became the first virus epidemic that was ended by a vaccine when Edward Jenner, a British doctor, discovered that milkmaids infected with a milder virus called cowpox seem to be immune to Smallpox.

 

In 19th Century Britain, Cholera tore through England killing tens of thousands of people. John Snow, an English doctor, discovered that poor sanitation and contaminated water were contributing to cholera outbreaks. While cholera has largely been eradicated in developed nations, it is still a persistent killer in poorer third-world countries. 

 

The 'Spanish Flu' epidemic of 1918 is estimated to have caused up to 50 million people to die. First identified in Spain, this Flu spread around the world as many of the soldiers fighting in the recently completed World War I were returning home. During an 18 month period it is estimated that 500 million people were infected with a mortality rate approaching 10%. Previously influenza epidemics had killed only the elderly, the infirm or the very young. However, the Spanish Flu often struck down health young adults.

 

In 1956-58 an estimated two million people died from the 'Asian Flu', which started in China and spread across Asia, including Australia, and then to the United States and Canada.

 

HIV/AIDS, first identified in the Congo in the late 1970s and being listed as a global pandemic in 1981, has killed an estimated 36 million people. As awareness has grown and new treatments have been developed, the HIV death rate has been significantly reduced.

 

Earlier this Century in 2003 the world saw outbreaks of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), a form of Coronavirus which was first identified in China and quickly spread to over two dozen countries. 

 

MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), is another Coronavirus respiratory illness that was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

 

While there have been a number of deaths from SARS and MERS, quick action by health authorities, quarantine and the importance of personal hygiene have limited fatalities by these two viruses. 

 

So, as we can see, pandemics are not new. However, to avoid the current threat of COVID-19, it is important that we follow the advice of Health Authorities and the Government, and look forward to the time when the pandemic is over and, hopefully, things begin to return to normal.

Over millennia, the human race has been confronted with life threatening disease.  While things are inconvenient at the moment we should give thanks for the fact that we are living at a time of instant communication and well prepared health authorities.

 

 

A very big welcome to our newest Rotarian, long term Mt Eliza resident Janet Richards.

 

Through her friendship with our Sergeant Trish and several other members of the Club Janet has been involved in many Rotary functions and activities over the years.

 

It is a delight that she is now a member of our Club.

 

Janet's formal induction will be held over until our normal Club dinner meeting resume. 

A quick  reminder that Rotarian Bernie Edwards has advised that the Bowls Evening scheduled for 7 April has been cancelled.

Rotarian David Rew and his organising committee are now planning to hold our Annual Golf Day on Friday, 20 November.