Influx of disease in the Caribbean
Encyclopedia
The Europe
an slave trade brought an influx of disease, particularly malaria
and yellow fever
, to the Caribbean
. The arriving Europeans brought slave
s to the new lands. Malaria and yellow fever were already rampant in Africa. Years of exposure in Africa rendered a great number of the incoming slaves immune to the two diseases, while others were carrier for the diseases.
The spread of these two deadly diseases is done by mosquito. Malaria was spread by the Anopheles
mosquito and yellow fever was spread by the Aedes aegypti
mosquito. Mosquitoes would ingest blood from one human who was a carrier of the disease and pass the virus to another human. The presence of mosquitos to transmit the diseases, combined with a reservoir of infected humans, assured that people in these areas would be exposed to the diseases.
While the Africans were genetically protected the Europeans
were not. Many Europeans living in the new lands would contract the diseases and die. The resistance of Africans to these diseases, which allowed them to survive and work in infested areas where Europeans couldn't, ironically increased their usefulness there and caused increased slave trade. The introduction of these two diseases into the Caribbean changed the ethnic make up of the area.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an slave trade brought an influx of disease, particularly malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
, to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. The arriving Europeans brought slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
s to the new lands. Malaria and yellow fever were already rampant in Africa. Years of exposure in Africa rendered a great number of the incoming slaves immune to the two diseases, while others were carrier for the diseases.
The spread of these two deadly diseases is done by mosquito. Malaria was spread by the Anopheles
Anopheles
Anopheles is a genus of mosquito. There are approximately 460 recognized species: while over 100 can transmit human malaria, only 30–40 commonly transmit parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which cause malaria in humans in endemic areas...
mosquito and yellow fever was spread by the Aedes aegypti
Aedes aegypti
The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti is a mosquito that can spread the dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, and other diseases. The mosquito can be recognized by white markings on legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the thorax...
mosquito. Mosquitoes would ingest blood from one human who was a carrier of the disease and pass the virus to another human. The presence of mosquitos to transmit the diseases, combined with a reservoir of infected humans, assured that people in these areas would be exposed to the diseases.
While the Africans were genetically protected the Europeans
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
were not. Many Europeans living in the new lands would contract the diseases and die. The resistance of Africans to these diseases, which allowed them to survive and work in infested areas where Europeans couldn't, ironically increased their usefulness there and caused increased slave trade. The introduction of these two diseases into the Caribbean changed the ethnic make up of the area.