Microbes In Dorothy H. Crawford's Deadly Companions

Microbes, despite being the most abundant organisms on Earth, were relatively inconspicuous to humans until the 17th century. These life forms have evolved their mechanisms of growth and survival in order to face the harsh conditions of the planet. While it often seems like two types of microbes, viruses and bacteria, have only impacted human life by increasing the fatality rate, Dorothy H. Crawford’s book, Deadly Companions, refutes this claim. Crawford argues that there are more important effects involved with microbial presence, as they have thrived during specific stages of human cultural history and have had a major impact on previous generations that have become lasting developments. More specifically, microbes have forced humans, the
The main four factors are the microbe’s transmission route, the length of its incubation period, the size and density of the population, and its geographical range (if a vector is involved). Through this concept, it explains how the rise of human social development in turn forces viruses or bacteria to become more sophisticated. During the period of hunters and gatherers, diseases did not have a chance to flourish through human hosts. As there were only 30-50 people per band, diseases would strike, most likely kill the entire tribe, and then die out when there was no one else to spread the disease to. However, as early humans soon desired a lifestyle where they could have a ready food surplus and a reliable shelter, the farming lifestyle became more favorable. The major consequence of this was that microbes easily infected farmers that drank water contaminated with waste and had close contact with animals. Additionally, as population density began to grow in a farming area, microbes only had to travel short distances in order to infect new hosts. Although when starting farming societies, humans were on the verge of creating developed civilizations, microbes infected and killed in
This is evident by the surprising number of viral diseases that have taken millions of lives each year. Although modern medicine has helped stave off diseases, more specifically in more developed countries, viruses have continued to evolve. As Crawford had argued, microbes and viruses evolve together. The end of Deadly Companions only enunciates the strong likelihood that a new infection will appear, as viruses have learned how to resist some vaccines. While plagues are frequent within still developing countries, developed countries have a strong likelihood to face repercussions from inappropriate vaccination use. However, to continue with her argument, if countries want to avoid mass deaths from plagues, they need to act ahead and regulated vaccines more. The epidemics and plagues covered in the book are the ones that are usually known for killing millions, or for being an effect of unsanitary conditions. However, Deadly Companions is a fusion of history and science. While there is a number of medical jargon introduced each chapter, in general, the book can be recommended to any person that is interested in history, as it spans the period of early humans to the SARS disease of the 21st century. If Crawford is correct in that humans should expect more plagues to devastate developed countries, then this book is an especially important read. By analyzing the history and