40 days to prove innocence. Quarantined until then!

Aaaaaaa-chiiiii.....came another sneeze, fourth on a trot. Sitting alone in the corner of a bed, in my hostel room, I had been sneezing for quite some time now. It was a hot, harsh and dry afternoon (May end) but I was aloof from the sweltering heat. Even with a blanket on, I was shivering from cold. Luckily, the semester had ended and with practicals remaining, we were on the verge of completing the first year of engineering. I was down with fever, viral to be precise. With a sore throat and a running nose, I secluded myself and held a handkerchief to cover my nose for an important reason: 'contain the spread of infection'.

Another day, working on the newly installed machine, the computer, in our house, I seem to download an innocuous looking game file from the Internet. Appearances are deceptive and so was the case with 'the file'. No sooner did the computer scan it for virus than it raised an alarm. The safe looking file was infected and the anti-virus gave me three choices: 'Delete', 'Fix & Repair' and 'Quarantine'. 

The above two instances tell or rather make an important point: Isolate the danger. It is a very useful and potent mantra in our day to day lives, but are you aware that this practice is centuries old. Secluding or cordoning off a person, animal or even goods to prevent the further spread of disease has been an important strategy since half a millennial back and is termed Quarantine.

How was the term Quarantine coined?

The main causes of death in the earlier times were diseases such as Plague, Yellow fever, Cholera etc. The Black plague or Black death of 1347 - 1352 is considered to be one of the most devastating of pandemics in the human history. Approximately 25 million people were wiped out by the deadly disease in Europe. As a solution to fight against this menace and to curb the proliferation of the plague, ships arriving at the port of Venice were anchored at a distant place from the harbour for 40 days. 

Only after the completion of the defined period were the ships and hence the people were allowed to enter the city. This was done to safeguard or quarantine the people from the evil and deadly pandemic, to which millions of people had succumbed.

Spread of Black Death (Source: Wikimedia)

Why 40 Days? What has Quarantine to do with Pythagoras?

A simple question that may have come to your mind: Why 40 Days and not a day less or more? Though there isn't a definite answer to it, but it is assumed to have derived from the Pythagoreans (followers of the great mathematician Pythagoras) fascination with the numbers 4 & 7. As per them, the Bible refers to infinity as 70x7, 7x4 (28 days) is the duration of menstrual cycle and also the lunar month, 7x40 (280 days)is the full term of a pregnancy. A baby born in the 7th month was considered auspicious and supposedly stayed healthy. Similarly, the 40 day quarantine came into practice as 40 is considered to be a sacred number. Know about the relation of mathematics with nature here.

Quaranta means 40 in Italian language and it gave birth to the word Quarantine, derived from the Italian words 'Quaranta Giorni' meaning 40 days. Though 40 days was the initial duration for isolation, nowadays, it all varies based on the perceived threat from people or animals. But the name Quarantine has stuck to mean any enforced isolation.

Nerd Notes

1) Black death resulted in the disappearance of around 1000 villages in England

2) Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and other crew members of Apollo 11 were Quarantined for 21 days on their return from Moon

Thanks for reading. Hope you liked the post. Take good care of self and make sure your surroundings are clean. One of the major causes of diseases/contamination is filthy environment and we must strive to make our homes and country clean and green.

- Prakhar