Final answer:
The plague, notably during events such as the Thirty Years' War, led to quarantine protocols that are still in use today. These measures were developed in response to the need to control diseases transmitted by vectors like lice. Today's quarantine practices draw on these historical precedents to contain infectious diseases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The insect-transmitted disease that led to the development of the quarantine protocols still followed today was the plague, also known as the Black Death. These protocols were a response to devastating pathogen-borne diseases that had significant impacts on human populations. Quarantine practices can be traced back to biblical times; however, it was during major historical events like the plague that more formal and widespread methods of containment were utilized. Quarantine helped to control diseases caused by vectors, which are living organisms that can transmit infectious pathogens between humans, or from animals to humans.
One notable example of quarantine application comes from the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), where a louse that initially carried typhus may have also transmitted the plague during the second half of the war. These early efforts at disease containment over time contributed to modern concepts and practices of quarantine. The importance of such measures remains relevant, particularly with diseases like malaria which, after almost being eradicated, persisted due to evolving pathogens and vectors resistant to drugs and pesticides like DDT.