Documentary Review: Secrets Of The Great Plague
Can A Horrible Ancient Killer Help Save Lives?
Nov 11, 2009
Secrets of the Great Plague, an hour-length documentary, takes Dr O’Brien across continents and centuries why two-thirds of London’s population survived the hideous black plague. Many had no access to doctors or medicines. Interviewees include Medical Microbiologist Tim Brooks, historians Justin Champion and John Clifford.
Bubonic Plague
The Black Death first struck Europe during the 14th Century. No one knew what caused the plague until the late 19th Century. Some believed it was caused by miasmas (bad air). Symptoms were documented regularly during recurring outbreaks in Europe. Millions died but many survived.
The hideous black plague killed one third of London’s population in 1665. The horror and devastation is realistically re-enacted in this film, as clergyman physician Dr John Allin came into contact with thousands who were infected and died.
Marshall Law enforced a brutal quarantine—both the healthy and the sick were shut in together and entire households were wiped out.
A recent discovery in a central London church cemetery debunks the convenient theory that the plague affected only the lower classes living in squalor or marginal circumstances.
Dr Allin recorded his observations and attempted to find a cure. His brother Peter died, but he survived the pestilence. Eyam, in England’s Peak District, was also affected when a visiting tailor brought the plague to this close-knit village. Many can trace their ancestors back to 1665.
Modern-Day Killer Diseases
Gay males were among the first cases of AIDS during the 1980s. Young boys with haemophilia were also affected as they relied on regular injections of Factor 8, a chemical clotting agent, to prevent internal bleeding.
Like Dr Allin, Dr O’Brien also lost his brother from a killer disease in 1994.
Dr Allin’s observations provide vital clues for scientists today as they discover ways to successfully treat AIDS, SARS, leukaemia, prostate cancer, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Delta 32
Dr O’Brien’s genetics team made a remarkable discovery after studying HIV-AIDS survivors’ blood.
The survivors carried a genetic mutation called Delta 32 which prevents HIV from entering the cells. It protected people against plague for centuries in Europe.
Dr O’Brien takes DNA samples from 85 volunteers from Eyam. What are the results? Will these tests confirm Dr O’Brien’s theory?
Secrets of the Great Plague screens on ABC1 on Tuesday, 17 November, 2009 at 8.30pm.
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