The Black Plague

Did you know there was once a plague even deadlier than Covid-19?In an article “Plague was one of history’s deadliest diseases-then we found a cure” by Jenny Howard. She speaks on the disease that ravaged everything in its path. Howard states, “Plague is one of the deadliest diseases in human history, second only to smallpox. A bacterial infection found mainly in rodents and associated fleas, plague readily leaps to humans in close contact. Plague outbreaks are the most notorious epidemics in history, inciting fears of plague’s use as a biological weapon.” She goes on to describe more in depth about The Black Plague, explaining its way of spreading, its side effects and its death rate. According to National Geographic, for hundreds of years it was a mystery how plagues spread, but due to microscope advances and years of observation the mystery was solved and a concrete answer has surfaced. Howard introduces us to Alexandre Yersin, the person who discovered the bacteria called “Yersinia pestis” in 1894. The bacteria was highly dangerous, causing the immune system to disable by injecting deadly toxin into the infected defense cells. Once the defense cells are out of the way, the bacteria can multiply with ease. The plague can be distinguished by two sub plagues, pneumonic plague and bubonic plague. The bubonic plague is the most common form, which causes swollen lymph nodes, causing the skin to turn black giving it the nickname “Black Death”. Symptoms including vomiting and fever. The pneumonic plague is the most infectious form, since it was an advanced stage of the plague that moved into the lungs. This caused the plague to become airborne, infecting people through contact with coughing particles. Therefore, either plague was very dangerous, even reaching a 100 percent death rate if left untreated.

In addition, I researched the article “The Black Death” by The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. These Editors speak on the origin and cause of many outbreaks of this plague. The Editors state “Having originated in China and Inner Asia, the Black Death decimated the army of the Kipchak khan Janibeg while he was besieging the Genoese trading port of Kaffa (now Feodosiya) in Crimea (1347). With his forces disintegrating, Janibeg catapulted plague-infested corpses into the town in an effort to infect his enemies. From Kaffa, Genoese ships carried the epidemic westward to Mediterranean ports, whence it spread inland, affecting Sicily (1347); North Africa, mainland Italy, Spain, and France (1348); and Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, and the Low Countries (1349). A ship from Calais carried the plague to Melcombe Regis, Dorset, in August 1348. It reached Bristol almost immediately and spread rapidly throughout the southwestern counties of England. London suffered most violently between February and May 1349, East Anglia and Yorkshire during that summer. The Black Death reached the extreme north of England, Scotland, Scandinavia, and the Baltic countries in 1350”. The Editors go in depth about the origin of the Plague and how it was able to reach other countries and infect the people in each respective country. Even after the period of time where the Black plague was at its peak, there were recurrences of the plague in 1361-63, 1369-71, 1374-75, 1390. It was suggested that, during that period of time the plague was introduced to Europe where climate change affected the population of rodents that became infected with plague carrying fleas. Therefore, showing a more clearer route of the plague and how it covered most of Europe.