Public health strategies and interventions have changed dramatically over time. Bloodletting is one of the oldest forms of medical intervention. It originated in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece, persisting through the Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment (PBS) periods. Doctors used the bloodletting method for every ailment imaginable; from pneumonia, bone fractures, and even wounds, bloodletting was as reliable and popular as aspirin is today. Public health can be traced back to Roman times, who also understood in this period that the proper division of human waste was a necessary factor of public health. in urban areas. As early as 1000 BC, the Chinese developed the practice of variolation following a smallpox epidemic. An individual without the disease could acquire some measure of immunity against it by inhaling the dried scabs that formed around the lesions of infected individuals. Children were protected by inoculating a scratch on their forearms with pus from a lesion. However, this vaccination practice did not become prevalent until the 1820s, following Edward Jenner's work to treat smallpox (Kumar, 2007). When the black plate hit Europe in the 14th century, many different intervention techniques were used. Removing the bodies of the dead was thought to prevent the spread of infection, however this did little to stop the spread of disease-carrying rodent-borne fleas. Burning parts of cities produced much greater benefits, as it destroyed rodent infestations. The development of quarantine in the medieval period also helped mitigate the effects of other infectious diseases. The history of public health in the United States can be divided into f...... middle of paper...... History of Public Health in Illinois. (n.d.). Public Health in Illinois: A Timeline of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Retrieved from http://www.idph.state.il.us/timeline/history.htmRecent News. (n.d.). IDPH online. Retrieved from http://www.idph.state.il.us/home.htmCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. The future of public health. What will it take to keep Americans healthy and safe? Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/ephli/Resources/CARE_public_health_suppl.pdf. Accessed January 25, 2012. Kumar, S. (n.d.). Public health. Priory medical journals online. Retrieved January 25, 2012, Retrieved from http://priory.com/history_of_medicine/public_health.htmStarr, D. (n.d.). Red Gold, the epic story of blood. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/basics/bloodletting.html