History of Health: Why is it important?

Jane and John Smith born in Portsmouth Village, now a neighbourhood of Kingston, Ontario, in 1810 and 1812 respectively had a life expectancy of forty years. Jane and John Jones born in Kingston in 2009 and 2011 respectively look forward to a life expectancy of eighty years. What accounts for this striking difference?

A Brief History of Isolation and Infectious Disease

Contagious disease has challenged society throughout human history. Quarantine and isolation was practiced in response to the pandemics of bubonic plague and cholera, beginning in the Middle Ages. In the 18th and 19th centuries, smallpox led to smallpox hospitals in some large urban communities. At the same time, citizens lived with the fear of outbreaks [...]