A heroic lesson in disease control from the past

Bubonic Plague - or The Black Death - is thought to have wiped out about half the population of England during the first pandemic in the 14th century. The disease - caused by a bacteria not a virus - continued to devastate Europe over the next 300 years.

Tomb in the church yard of Eyam church in Derbyshire, UK Source: AAP

The village of Eyam in Derbyshire in England has gone down in history as a byword for self-sacrifice.  When the plague reached there in 1665 the villagers took the courageous decision to seal themselves off from the outside world, preventing the disease spreading to nearby communities.