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.
It originated from southern China and went along the Silk Road. It crossed through central Asia, India and also into the middle East (Stock Vol.4). Later on, scientists found out the cause of the Black Plague to start was ships and carriers, which had rats onboard that were infested by fleas. India was deeply affected by this, resulting in 13 million deaths (Wells 1097). The most common disease during the Black Plague was the bubonic plague.
With the bubonic plague brutally killing one fourth of Europe in the 14th century and devastating China in the 18th century (Link), it is noted in history books as the worst plague of all times. The Black Death The Black Death is said to have originated from many different places. Some sources say Egypt (Walker), while others argue Central Asia (Ibeji). Although the origin is uncertain, it is certain that the bacteria Yersinia pestis caused the plague (Plague-Bubonic plague). Alexander Yersin discovered the bacteria in 1894 while researching an epidemic in China.
There were three different versions of the plague, which included the Bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and the septicemic plague. Each of these infected the host and weakened the entire body eventually leading to death. The Plague was thought to have originated from various areas including Central Asia, Kurdistan, Western Asia, Northern India and Uganda. The infection had thought to have been brought over through black rats and traveled along numerous trade routes leading to Europe. These trade routes included Asia, Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and London in the middle of 1348.
The Ships were forced to seek harbor elsewhere around the Mediterranean, which allowed the disease to spread very quickly (Truitt, 2001). This would be the beginning of a very traumatic event that would affect all aspects of European society. The Bubonic Plague generated from a bacterium called Yersina pestis, which is a one-celled organism that multiplies rapidly once inside its host and produces three types of symptoms, depending on how it is spread (Aberth, 2000). The bacterium that leads to the Bubonic Plague usually is found in the bloodstream of wild black rats. It is then posed to humans by fleas that feed on the blood of rats and then bite humans, in which the bacterium is passed into the human bloodstream (Aberth, 2000).
People began to doubt God and do things their own way. They became frustrated with questions as to why God would let this happen. As the death toll from the plague became higher and higher, people became really sad and depressed from losing friends and loved ones. As jobs were more available after the start of the plague, people began to make more money, but food and taxes also became more expensive. As prices rose, so did the peasants tempers.
The Black Death is a disease that first arrived in Europe in 1347 through a ship with rats and fleas contaminated with Yersinia pestis bacteria. This bacteria has the capability of taking one’s life within 48 hours (MedicineNet). In 1340s, the plague victimized countless numbers of people. Fortunately, the plague temporarily subsided during the Renaissance era in 1450s (Dowling, Mike). But in the spring and summer of 1665, the plague revived in London, in the name of the Great Plague (Historic UK).
Europe in particular suffered the most, losing sixty percent of its population (Benedictow, 2005). It is supposed to have started in Asia and spread to Europe and Africa from there. The world knew much about it by the time it had run its course. It was started by a bacterium called Yersinia Pestis (ibid). This germ inhabits fleas which in turn inhabit rodents, particularly the black rat.
The plague was carried into Europe in 1347 by flea-bearing black rats infesting the commercial vessels that brought goods to Mediterranean ports. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population. The Black Death is endemic to rodents and transmitted to humans by common flea. In humans the disease invades the blood the glands under the arms and goin that would swell, sometimes to the size of an apple or an egg, and dark blotches would also appear on the skin. These blotches had the same meaning for everyone, on whom they appeared.
Plague is a bacterial infection found mainly in rodents and their fleas (Plague). In this case the plague came from Oriental fleas traveling on the black rats that were on merchant ships. The Black Death spread from Messina Italy to the port of Marseilles in France to the port of Tunis in North Africa in two years (Black Death). The plague spread world wide, taking over 1.5 million lives. Even though at the time civilization thought so, the plague did not spread from direct contact.