The Manchurian pandemic of pneumonic plague (1910-1911).

China's winter of 1910-1911 was one of its most difficult. A deadly airborne pneumonic plague, believed to have originated from tarbagan marmots, broke out in October 1910 in a northeastern Chinese province commonly known by the exonym Manchuria. The disease had a near 100 percent mortality rate, affecting mainly the lower socio-economic classes and eventually killing more than 60,000 people over six months. By April 1911, the epidemic was suppressed, in large part due to the efforts of a Western-educated Chinese physician, Wu Lian-Teh. Similar to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Manchurian Plague outbreak highlighted the importance of personal protective equipment, such as face masks, and a quick and efficient international medical response.

The Manchurian pandemic of pneumonic plague (1910–1911)

SUMMARY China’s winter of 1910–1911 was one of its most difficult. A deadly airborne pneumonic plague, believed to have originated from tarbagan marmots, broke out in October 1910 in a northeastern Chinese province commonly known by the exonym Manchuria. The disease had a near 100 percent mortality rate, affecting mainly the lower socio-economic classes and eventually killing more than 60,000 people over six months. By April 1911, the epidemic was suppressed, in large part due to the efforts of a Western-educated Chinese physician, Wu Lian-Teh. Similar to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Manchurian Plague outbreak highlighted the importance of personal protective equipment, such as face masks, and a quick and efficient international medical response.

Medical education challenges and innovations during COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly disrupted the well-established, traditional structure of medical education. Τhe new limitations of physical presence have accelerated the development of an online learning environment, comprising both of asynchronous and synchronous distance education, and the introduction of novel ways of student assessment. At the same time, this prolonged crisis had serious implications on the lives of medical students including their psychological well-being and the impact on their academic trajectories. The new reality has, on many occasions, triggered the 'acting up' of medical students as frontline healthcare staff, which has been perceived by many of them as a positive learning and contributing experience, and has led to a variety of responses from the educational institutions. All things considered, the urgency for rapid and novel adaptations to the new circumstances has functioned as a springboard for remarkable innovations in medical education,including the promotion of a more "evidence-based" approach.