The incredible social distancing manual to beat the plague … 440 years ago

The Black Death was the most famous plague in history. It is estimated that at its peak, between 1347 and 1351, about 70 million people died in Europe and Asia.

And although a wave as devastating as this was never experienced again, there were epidemics in different parts of Europe over the following centuries.

Seen since 2021, with humanity still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is inevitable to stop at what happened on the island of Sardinia between 1581 and 1582.

It was there, 440 years and centuries before the emergence of modern medicine, that a physician appointed Fifth Tiberius Angelerio began recommending measures to stop a highly contagious disease which is common today, but which until then was unpublished.

It would take a few years for Angelerio to write a manual called Squeeze Unhealthy State Algheriae Sardinia where he detailed the 57 measures the spread of the plague had to be stopped.

Among the most notorious, the recommendation of keep a distance of two meters with people, avoid manual contact and send only one person per household to run errands and errands.

“It is surprising to find this doctor with this level of knowledge in this rather small town,” said Ole Benedictow, professor emeritus of history at the University of Oslo, who wrote an academic article on this subject, in a report. BBC interview.

“It would make more sense for this to be seen in large commercial cities, like Pisa or Florence. But this doctor was ahead of time. It’s something really impressive, ”he concluded.

The Marseille sailor

Historical documents suggest that it was a sailor derived from from Marseille which triggered the outbreak of the plague of 1582 in the Italian town of Alghero, located on the island of Sardinia.

Apparently he only managed to survive a few days in Alghero, as the disease was too advanced. However, this time was enough for the epidemic that was to devastate the city to begin to spread.

In the nearly 8 months that the epidemic has lasted, it is estimated that 60% of the population has died.

Mass graves were everywhere, some of which continue to be discovered to this day. In 2008, an investigation uncovered the remains of more than 200 plague victims in the courtyard of what was once the Jesuit school in the San Michele-Lo district.

Ultimately, the solution came from the hand of Quinto Tiberio Angelerio, that he was an upper class man who had studied medicine elsewhere, as Alghero did not have a medical school at that time.

He had been in contact with the plague during a passage through Sicily in 1575, and as soon as he saw the bodies of the first victims, he knew exactly what he was facing.

His first recommendation was quarantined patients, but met resistance everywhere. The municipal authorities did not decide to support him and his opponents assured that their apocalyptic predictions were unfounded.

Desperate, Angelerio appeals to the viceroy and begs him to impose a sanitary cordon around town that would prevent people from leaving it. At first, the population was inflamed and he wanted to lynch the doctor.

But as the deaths started to pile up, the mood changed and they let the doctor take care of the health planning to deal with the plague epidemic.

Restrictions and resistance

The first step recommended by Angelerio was not to leave the house. Too gatherings, parties and dances prohibited, and ruled that only one person per household could do their shopping.

Another recommendation was to maintain a certain distance from others when going out in public spaces.

According to a translation of the manual written by Angelerio made by the Benedictow team, “people had to wear a walking stick about 2 meters long to make sure you keep that distance from others. “

This is perhaps the most surprising innovation offered by Angelerio. In a BBC investigation into the doctor’s work, he consulted many historians and public health experts.

No one had seen any recording of what was going on elsewhere before Angelio recommended it.

Remember this all happened before the emergence of modern science. At that time, it was believed that the disease was due to “poor air quality”, and the vinegar it was a more widely used antiseptic.

The recommended treatments for plague ranged from eschatological, such as bathe in urine oneself, even the bizarre: in some cases rubbing against a chicken as a means of “expelling” the poison.

It should also be noted that this happened on the dawn of Renaissance, a time rich in advances of all kinds for humanity. In addition to the artistic works of Michelangelo and Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci drew theoretical plans for a possible helicopter and Nicolás Copernicus discovered that it was the Earth that revolved around the Sun, and not the other way around.

It was also around these years that the idea began to gain traction that people might get sick after touch something who had previously been touched by someone sick.

“There is a link between the Renaissance and the ability of people in the 16th century to better understand how diseases are spread,” Benedictow told the BBC. “Angelerio understood that they spread by contact“, full.

One example was his recommendation that houses should be disinfect them, aerate them and “water” them. He explained that any item that is not particularly valuable must be burnedwhile expensive furniture can be washed, exposed to the wind, or disinfected in an oven.

First quarantines

Italy was one of the pioneer countries in using quarantine as a health measure to fight plague. The first plague hospital, known as lazarettos, I know established in Venice in 1423.

In Angelio’s manual, these hospitals occupy an important place. In their description, they appear as establishments very efficient and well managedThe poor were cared for free, the sick who could not travel on their own were transferred and food was provided for orphaned babies thanks to a supply of goat’s milk.

The epidemic of 1581 in Alghero lasted eight months. Once completed, it would take 60 years for the city to experience a plague again. The physician in charge of the health response in 1652 had recourse to the manual written by Angelerio and followed the instructions to the letter.

Clarín press room, with information from BBC News

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