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In many ways, Public Health is largely a modern concept, although it has roots in antiquity. In order for public health policies and programs to develop, it was necessary for governments to gain some understanding of the causes of disease. Early on, it was recognized that polluted water and lack of proper waste disposal were implicated in spreading vector-borne diseases. By Roman times, it was well-understood that proper diversion of human waste was a necessary tenet of public health in urban areas.

The Chinese developed the practice of variolation following a smallpox epidemic around 1,000 B.C. Inhaling the dried crusts of lesions or later, innoculation of a scratch on the forearms of chidren with the pus from a lesion. This practice was not documented in the West until the early 1700s and was utilized on a very limited basis. The practice of vaccination did not become prevalent until the 1820s, following the work of Edward Jenner.

During the 14th century Black DeathThis article concerns the outbreak of the mid- 14th century. For detailed information on the most commonly accepted cause of the epidemic, see Bubonic plague''. The Black Death (also Bubonic plague and more recently The Black Plague was a devastating epid in EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se, it was believed that removing the bodies would prevent further spread of the disease. Unfortunately, this did little to stem the plague, which was spread by rodentMany, see text The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. Currently there are, depending on the authority consulted, between 2000 and 3000 species of rodent—roughly half of all mammal species. Rodents are found-borne fleaFor the musician, a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, see Michael Balzary. Tungidae Sticktight and Chigoe fleas Pulicidae Common fleas Coptopsyllidae Vermipsyllidae Carnivore fleas Rhopalopsyllidae Marsupial fleas Hypsophthalmidae Stephanocircidae Pygis. Burning areas of cities resulted in much greater benefit, since it removed the rodent infestations.

The science of epidemiologyEpidemiology is the study of the demographics of disease processes, including the study of epidemics and other diseases that are common enough to allow statistical tools to be applied. So, besides contagious diseases, it also focuses on diabetes, coronary was founded by John SnowThere have been several people named John Snow John Snow, the founder of epidemiology John W. Snow, US businessman and politician John Snow, English cricketer See also: Jon Snow, British newsreader.'s identification of a polluted public water well as the cause of an 1854 choleraCholera (also called Asiatic cholera is a disease of the intestinal tract caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. These bacteria are typically ingested by drinking water contaminated by improper sanitation or by eating improperly cooked fish, especially outbreak in London. John believed in the germ theory of disease as opposed to the prevailing miasma theory, which taught correctly that disease was a result of poor sanitation, but was based only upon the prevailing theory of spontaneous generation. This was the case, even though Redi showed in the 17th century that fly eggs were required for maggots to be generated in dung heaps and Lazzaro Spallanzani, in 1768, proved that microbes came from the air, and that regeneration could be prevented by boiling in a hermetically sealed container.

Now most governments recognize the importance of public health programs in reducing the incidence of disease, disability, and the effects of aging. Public health programs providing vaccinations have in recent years have successfully all but eradicated smallpox. Certainly, one of the most important public health issues of the present is that of AIDS.