What are the cause of biological disasters and examples
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In general, biological disasters develop when some form of malignant agent (usually bacteria or virus) enters a population that is vulnerable to it's actions and which lives in an environment that is conducive to the agent's propagation. Not all sources of biological disasters are known, and there is no clear consensus on precisely when an outbreak becomes an epidemic and when and epidemic becomes a disaster.
Some of the most notable biological disasters were caused by the movement of people to and from places where they never ventured before. One of the best examples of this was the plague (or Black Death) during the middle ages. The plague most likely originated in western Asia, and was carried by Asian brown rats aboard a cargo ship that traveled between Italy and the eastern Black Sea. Once it reached Europe it encountered a lot more people (potential victims) than it did in the sparsely populated Black Sea area, and that new population was not resistant to the disease.
AIDS (HIV) likely was spread in a rather similar way. In deep Africa the virus might have lived among apes and other animals but the human population was pretty sparse. With merchants and tourists traveling to and from deep Africa, however, someone picked up the virus unknowingly and brought it back with him. Once it was introduced into the Western world, it encountered very little resistance.
Ex-Ebola, dengue fever, malaria
Some of the most notable biological disasters were caused by the movement of people to and from places where they never ventured before. One of the best examples of this was the plague (or Black Death) during the middle ages. The plague most likely originated in western Asia, and was carried by Asian brown rats aboard a cargo ship that traveled between Italy and the eastern Black Sea. Once it reached Europe it encountered a lot more people (potential victims) than it did in the sparsely populated Black Sea area, and that new population was not resistant to the disease.
AIDS (HIV) likely was spread in a rather similar way. In deep Africa the virus might have lived among apes and other animals but the human population was pretty sparse. With merchants and tourists traveling to and from deep Africa, however, someone picked up the virus unknowingly and brought it back with him. Once it was introduced into the Western world, it encountered very little resistance.
Ex-Ebola, dengue fever, malaria
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