Illustrations: Théophile Bartz

What We Learned From Smallpox, Measles, Cholera, and Other Health Crises

No two diseases are the same, but we may be able to draw upon what happened in prior outbreaks to illuminate the path forward

Erin Blakemore
Elemental
Published in
15 min readMay 19, 2020

The novel coronavirus is just that — completely new. But disease is very old, indeed, and outbreaks, epidemics, and even pandemics…

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Erin Blakemore
Elemental

I’m a freelance journalist from Boulder, CO covering history, science, health, and wonder for outlets like The Washington Post, TIME, and National Geographic.