This documentary will explore the impact on our planet of viral diseases across the ages.
Covid-19, which struck with such devastating impact, is the latest in a long line of pandemics that have devastated & in some cases, destroyed societies throughout time.
Like all pandemics, Covid-19 was sparked by human interaction with the animal world. This documentary looks at the circumstances that have caused these diseases – whether it be hygiene, poverty, overcrowding, urbanisation or the growth of cities- and how travel has impacted on their rapid transmission.
We explore the symptoms and their impact – whether it was the Black Death, Bubonic Plague -which cost 100 million lives in 14th century Europe, or the Smallpox pandemic transmitted by Europeans which wiped out indigenous communities in America, Pacific and Australia between the 15th and 18th centuries.
The Great Plague of the 17th century and the Spanish Flu outbreak at the end of WWI were equally devastating in Europe. Quarantine measures were first widely introduced and debated 700 years ago and now in the 21st Century with Covid-19, their effectiveness is being debated again.
Science, which searched for and found cures and vaccines to old diseases, is once again on a quest for a new one as the world seeks a solution.
