http://ponderosa-pine.uoregon.edu/students/Janis/menu.html Abstract Bubonic plague has had a major impact on the history of the world. Caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis, and transmitted by fleas often found on rats, bubonic plague has killed over 50 million people over the centuries. Burrowing rodent populations across the world keep the disease present in the world today. Outbreaks, though often small, still occur in many places. The use of antibiotics and increased scientific knowledge first gained in the 1890s have reduced the destruction of plague outbreaks.
About the worst disease in world history, the Black Death or Bubonic Plague which killed over 75 million people approximately 25-50 million accrued in Europe. The word plague is defined as a dangerous disease that spreads rapidly. It may have reduced the world’s population from an estimated 450 million people to between 355-375 million in 1400’s. Beginning in Asia and spread by the Mongol tribes that dominated that vast area, the disease devastated China and the Middle East, interrupting long distance trade and cross-cultural encounters that had flourished for two centuries. The plague was carried into Europe in 1347 by flea-bearing black rats infesting the commercial vessels that brought goods to Mediterranean ports.
Many diseases claim the lives of people every day. The Bubonic plague was a serious epidemic that killed an estimated 25 million people across Europe during the fourteenth century. Not only did the plague create hardships over the country in many areas with the attitude and lifestyle, it also created some good with the economy by creating jobs. The bubonic plague is a disease from a bacterial infection caused by Yesinia petitis. This bacteria comes from rat fleas.
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death was a raging disease. Most people thought of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot. The disease spread through a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis.
The pneumonic plague it is transferred by “respiratory fluids” (The Black Death, 23). The plague kills its victims in a period of two to three days. The third type is the septicemic plague and it had a mortality rate of nearly 100%. This plague “spread through a direct invasion or poisoning of the blood” (The Black Death,
Yersinia pestis is spread through the bites of fleas and rodents infected by it or exposure of open wounds to other possible reservoirs of infection (Perry and Fetherson 1999). Evolutionary History Yersinia pestis evolved from clones of Y. pseudotuberculosis, a low-grade enteric pathogen, within the last 1,500 to 20,000 years (Achtman et al. 1999)... ... middle of paper ... .... J. Mazzoni, M. Eppinger, P. Roumagnac, D. M. Wagner, M. Feldkamp, B. Kusecek, A. J. Vogler, Y. Li, Y. Cui, N. R. Rhomson, T. Jombart, R. Leblois, P. Lichtner, L. Rahalison, J. M. Petersen, F. Balloux, P. Keim, T. Wirth, J. Ravel, R. Yang, E. Carniel and M. Achtman 2010. Yersinia pestis genome sequencing identifies patterns of global phylogenetic diversity. Nature Genetics 42:1140-1143 Perry, R. D. and J. D. Fetherson.
A germ identified as Yersinia pestis, also known as the plague bacteria, causes the bubonic plague. Yersinia pestis are Gram-negative bacteria found in some parts of the world, mainly Africa, Asia and South America. The bacteria caused around 1000 to 3000 plague cases each year, however only about 10 to 20 of these cases are in the United States. Yersinia pestis is found most commonly in rats, however it is occasionally found in other animals. Some of the other animals known to carry the bacteria are: - Mice - Fleas - Lice - Prairie dogs - Cats - Dogs - Squirrels - Wood rats - And Chipmunks.
In the thirteen hundreds Europe was hit with the worst epidemic the world has ever seen. It was called the black plague. This disease was spread throughout the continent in less then 4 years. The amount of death this disease caused formed severe mental damage on the people who lived around it at that time. Some historians believe that the plague was so bad that Europe is still recovering from it today.
The Black Death caused a widespread death rate over the eastern and western parts of Europe during the fourteenth century. Not only did the Black Death take a devastating toll on human life, it also played an important role in shaping European life in years to come. The Black Death came in three forms, the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Each form killed people in it’s own vicious way. All forms were caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis.
This unknown bacterium that caused all three pandemic was terrifyingly and indiscriminately contagious (). Specifically, in the second pandemic, this organism sweep through Europe killing one third of the population, equivalent to more than 20 million people. Some cities may have had up to 75% of the population died in one day. Many people fled the cities for the countryside, but even there they could not escape the disease of this organism: It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people. Its method of transmission was from ticks that bite infected rodents, and then transmitted to humans.