The most serious epidemic outbreak in western history began in sicily in october 1347 between that date and the end of 1353 most of europe was affected the disease most likely responsible was the plague apparently in both its bubonic and its pneumonic forms. The burdens of disease epidemics and human response in western history responsibility jn hays j n hays chronicles perceptions and responses to plague and pestilence over two thousand years of western history disease is framed as a multidimensional construct situated at the intersection of history politics culture and medicine . The burdens of disease epidemics and human response in western history by jn hays new brunswick new jersey and london rutgers university press 1998 xi plus 36lpp this work is an ambitious synthesis of literature especially recent literature on the history of disease and on the history of medicine that ranges from the civilizations of . Andrew wear j n hays the burdens of disease epidemics and human response in western history new brunswick nj rutgers university press 1998 pp xi 3. J n hays the burdens of disease epidemics and human response in western history rutgers 2003 during the coronavirus epidemic of 2020 i decided to pull this book off my shelf and read it im glad i did since it approaches the history of epidemics and disease in western civilization from a historical and social