Plagued. Episodes 1 & 2 (A)

Conceived, written and narrated by award winning medical broadcaster, Dr. Norman Swan, this four part series investigates the relationship between history, destiny and disease. “The Origins of disease” investigates, through various case studies, including Korean haemorrhagic fever, shell shock, RSI and heart disease, how new diseases arise. We also discover that some are not diseases at all, but suffering made worse by factors as diverse as medical jargon and management style. “Epidemics: products of progress” takes up the theme that, ironically, throughout history, epidemics have been the results of so-called progress, and that despite medical technology, we are still vulnerable to old and new diseases, such as plague, cholera and AIDS which have the power to change the course of history.