The Plague
Written by Dr. T. M. Wassenaar Tuesday, 23 December 2008 16:34
The Plague that raged through Europe was not the first introduction of Y. pestis to this area. The Greek historian Thucydides described the plague that struck Athens and Sparta in the fifth centruy BC, which is supported by Archeological findings (archeology online news). A detailed treatise on Plague in the Ancient World is available to check the details. Then, after an absence of more than a millenium, the bacteria followed trade routes from the Crimea, resulting in a devastating epidemic that killed between one to two-thirds of the population in Western Europe. The epidemic lasted about 200 years and affected all aspects of social and economic life.
The infection cycle of Y. pestis involves both fleas, rodents, and humans. Pest control would have been poor in those days, and in times of hunger (not unusual in those days) wild rats would become desperate, looking for food in the vicinity of human habitats, then die. This would force their fleas to find a new victim, and that is why famine was often followed by the Plague. Knowledge on the cause of the disease was insufficient to break the chain of infection, though it was known that a victim was contageous. The result was often a complete refusal of treatment of patients. Physicians tried to protect themselves with masks. The infection could take two forms: bubonic plague and pneumonic plague, as described in this treatise of Plague in England.
The plague inspired historians and authors, and many chronicles exist to this day. Reports from 1348 are collected at this Archive of narratives and medieval writings. The most famous one is the description in the Decameron, a book in which 10 young people escaping the Plague in mid-14th-century Florence shared 100 stories in ten days. Historical data are supported by modern-day technology. For instance, with the use of new technology, Yersinia pestis could be indentified from dental material of archaeological remains.
A catastrophe like the Plague epidemic brings the worst of feelings to the surface. People accused each other of spreading the disease, of fouling water wells. Especially Jews were blamed and punished badly, a consequence of a primitive and barbarious reaction. Read about The black death and the Jews.
The Black Death took a big toll, but it was not the worst infectious disease in historical times. The historical top-killer is the virus causing the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Yersinia pestis infections are not a thing of the past. Plague exists to this day. A Plague Program exists to this day. In Madagascar, for instance, the disease reappeared in 1990. Read here what the WHO writes about plague. In the Western USA plague is endemic in certain animal populations, and occasionally people get infected. In these areas vaccination is not required. A plague vaccine is available to people at high risk of exposure who travel into infested areas. The bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics, however, resistant strains are now an increasing problem. Fortunatelyr, our knowledge on the origin and spread of the disease prevents a wide-spread epidemic like that experienced in medieval Europe.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 November 2011 12:00