Bubonic Plague Essay

Bubonic Plague Research Paper
Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is spread by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. These
bacteria remain in a dormant state primarily in a rat flea's foregut. Once the flea has bitten a victim
it regurgitates the contents in its foregut into the bite location. Once the bacterium has entered into a
mammal's warm body it begins to reproduce and spread throughout the mammal's body. The
reproduction of this bacterium creates large painful swollen lymph nodes which are called buboes.
Once these buboes get large enough they begin to ooze infected body fluid so that any contact
between an infected person and a healthy person will facilitate the spread of this disease. (The Mayo
Clinic Staff, 2012)
The areas where the buboes form are the...show more content...
(The Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012)
It was believed in the middle ages that this disease was caused by poor hygiene, bad eating habits,
corrupted humid air, and a lack of rest. Once a person was thought to be infected the doctors would
move them to a non–infected area thinking that this would heal the persons illness instead this
transported the disease even further than normal. In modern times we have made leaps and bounds
to control this illness. One of the main problems of the plague is that it is not treatable until the
victim gets tested and confirmed that the plague is the illness. Once that is done they will start
receiving high doxycycline doses and many other types of antibiotics. The mortality rate for
someone that is not treated is 50–90% compared to treated cases of 1–15%.
The bubonic plague has been around for almost two thousand years. In most early cases the plague
was spread from China along the Silk Road. The Silk Road was the over land trade route from the
orient that silk, spices, and other trade able goods from the east to western Europe. In most cases
rats carrying the Oriental Rat Flea or another animal carrying the flea would move to a new
location. Once that animal died the flea would move to another host which could be a human. Once
bitten by the flea a bubo begins to form when the bubo begins to ooze fluid the illness can then be
passed through touch. As stated above in the Middle
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The Significance Of The Bubonic Plague
Plagues are basically diseases that meant to kill all humans that came in contact with. Talking about
famous plagues, it reminds me of the black plague also called the bubonic plague in the 1300s that
took the lives of millions in Europe, the great plague of London that was caused by some kind of rat
infestation infecting the food and the plague in China's Yunnan province that also spread to India
also killing millions of people. I am not sure what other plagues I have missed as I may not have
heard about them. Several research questions that capture the most interests in my topic are as
follows (according to table 1.1):
Sense–Making:
1. How did the famous plague "Black Death" spread and how did it end?
2. What might explain the disappearance in the plague in the 21st century and why might it be
replaced with the emergence of cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Hypothesis–Testing:...show more content...
Is there evidence that HIV/AIDS and cancer are forms of plague (according to mortality rates)?
2. Is my assumption about being carriers likely is the carriers of the "Black Death" Plague true or
not?
3. Is it true that the black plague bacterium Yersinia Pestis even after so many years is still thriving
in some animal carriers today like wild dogs, rodents, etc.?
Relationship–Analyzing:
1. What is the connection between HIV/AIDS and the plagues that took millions of lives in the past?
2. Was there any connection between the increasing small rodent population and the rising number
of "Black Plague" plague deaths at the same time?
3. Does the plague bacterium Yersinia Pestis cause flea infestation in rodents (carrier)?
4. Is the Black Plague bacterium different from the other vector disease causing

Bubonic Plague Essay
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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. In Medieval times, with the unknowing help of humans, bubonic plague
exploded into a pandemic. Known as the ВіBlack DeathВІ, it decimated Europe in 1350, killing 1/3
of the...show more content...
However, with certain environmental conditions plague reaches an epizootic scale (affecting many
animals in any region at the same time). It is after a significant amount of the rodent (usually rats)
population dies out, that hungry, infected fleas seek other sources of blood, increasing the risk to
humans and other animals. the incubation period of bubonic plague is 2 to 6 days after exposure.
Between disease outbreaks, the plague bacterium exists among certain burrowing rodent populations
without causing much illness. These animals act as long–term reservoirs of infection.
What happens (biologically) to people who get the disease and why?
Once the bacterium, Yersiniapestis, enters the bloodstream, it travels to the liver, spleen, kidneys,
lungs, and brain. The incubation period is commonly 2 to 6 days after exposure. Early symptoms
include:
–shivering
–vomiting
–headache
–giddiness
–intolerance to light
–pain in the back and limbs
–white coating on tongue
Eventually, pain occurs in the groin, armpit, and neck (all the areas that contain lymph nodes). Later,
there is painful swelling of the lymph nodes called "boboes", hard lumps that begin to
appear on the inner thigh, neck, and armpit. Blood vessels then break, causing internal bleeding.
Soon, dried blood under the skin begins to turn black. Yersinia pestis, in autopsies, has been found in
the periodical sac, spleen, liver, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. If untreated, plague

Analysis Of The Bubonic Plague
Due to the sparse amount of medical knowledge on the Bubonic plague, the plague easily reaped
many European lives. The people at the time had "no defense against the disease and no
understanding of how it spread", allowing the plague to cause enormous panic and death. Once
infected with the plague, the expected life expectancy was 1–2 days. "Another even more virulent
form attacked the respiratory system and was spread by breathing the exhaled air of a victim", the
plague was even exchanged through breathing, showing how overwhelmingly easy it was for the
plague to spread and infect. "No human wisdom or foresight seemed to have any value" in stopping
the devastating plague, not even the advice of their physicians, or their medicine at the time

Bubonic Plague Outline
I. Introduction:
A. Attention Getter: During the 14th century, the Bubonic Plague was one of the most catastrophic
events that changed all of Europe and Asia as it wiped out millions of people. The Black Death
affected the entire world and caused fear in people for several of years.
B. Thesis: Starting with what the plague is, to the effects, and the treatments, the Plague was the most
devastating pandemics in human history.
II. What the bubonic Plague is:
A. Description 1. The bubonic plague is a highly infectious disease that attacks the lungs and lymph
nodes ("Bubonic"). 2. Another name for the bubonic plague is called the Black Death because of one
of the symptoms humans receive ("Bubonic"). 3. The plague is caused by a bacterium...show more
content...
The effects on the economy 1. With the plague killing millions of people it made a huge impact on
the countries it hit (Kastenbaum). 2. Because of the Plague it impacted society by feudalism,
population decline, and the reconstruction of deserted towns (Kastenbaum). 3. In addition to the
population decreasing, the world also suffered several misfortunes in labor, art, culture, and the
economy (Brigham).
IV. Treatment:
A. Treatments back than 1. In the 14th century, the treatments included bathing in urine, having a
dead animal in the house, and drinking concoctions of molten gold and crushed emeralds (Scogna).
2. By the 15th century, ships were required to anchor offshore for 40 days before people could leave
(Benedictow). 3. One other treatment that they used in the past and still used today is immediately
isolating the sick from the healthy ("Bubonic").
B. Modern day treatments 1. Today scientists and doctors have come up with immunizations and
antibiotics to control the plague (Cantor). 2. The most popular treatment is the process of
quarantine which is staying away from rats, fleas, and infected people (Benedictow). 3. Another
major factor was trying to keep the air clean because over time the plague became airborne passing
from person to person

Bubonic Plague Paragraph
Avery Whitbeck
Hour 7
2.11.17
R&J Research Paragraph
Bubonic Plague The Bubonic Plague has existed for thousands of years and causes horrific
symptoms. According to "Bubonic Plague" by Kathleen Scogna, the first documented outbreak was
in 430 BC which hit Athens, Greece, while the second and most famous outbreak was in London in
1346 killing one–third of the population of Europe. The Bubonic Plague swept across the rest of the
world with new epidemics from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries then died down and yet
there are still small outbreaks in less developed countries. In the article "Bubonic Plague" by The
Gale Encyclopedia of Science, the writer states the bacteria formerly known as Yersinia Pestis enters
the bloodstream and travels to various organs including the brain. There are two forms of the plague,
the first form called the Bubonic form, is where the infected lymph nodes drain through the area
where the flea...show more content...
The other form is the Pneumonic form where the bacteria infect the lungs which is highly
contagious and can kill in the matter of 2 days. Some symptoms include fever, congestion of eye
vessels, seizures, headaches, and severe swelling of the lymph nodes. Towards the end of the
nineteenth century a few scientists made findings that made it easier to control the plague. A man
named Robert Koch figured out that the bacteria lives in the bloodstream of a rat then, in the
stomach of a flea and is transferred when a flea bites a rat and then bites a human (Scogna).
Considering the Plague existed in Shakespearean times, obviously Shakespeare used it in his writing.
The Bubonic Plague has had a major effect on "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet", it could be said
that the Bubonic Plague caused the death of Romeo, Juliet. In Act V, Friar John states, "Here in this
city visiting the sick,

Bubonic Plague Symptoms
In 1346–53 Europe was ruined by a plague people were dying every day 10000 to be exact. Some
of the symptoms of the1 of 3 different types of black plague. And the first one is bubonic plague
the first symptoms would be sudden onset fever it is the first of many symptoms to come. The
second symptom would be headache it is kind of like the fever but its head pounding headache. The
third symptoms of the bubonic plague are fatigue and malaise this is where you are tired and
uneasiness that is a sign of this horrible disease. And the final symptoms is muscle aches it is
where you experience aches like a headache but instead of having a ache in your head you have
ache in any part of the body.
Now the European empire could have stopped it from

75 to 200 million people died from the Bubonic Plague it was estimated about 23 of the European
population died. Bubonic Plague hurts the Immune system by attacking an invading it. The only
way to stop the Bubonic plague is by antibiotics and prescription drugs that destroy the virus. If not
treated it will enter the bloodstream and attacks the lungs. Which could give the body Pneumonic
plague which is deadly and the Pneumonic plague will give people hepatitis which will give the
body fatigue and muscle weakness. The cells in the body system fights off bad pathogens. It keeps
the body from getting infected with viruses and diseases like the flu. The Bubonic plague entered the
Immune System by changing it form to disguise itself so it will let it in when it is in the Immune
System. It attacks by shutting it down and kills cells inside. So the body cannot fight it off. Then it
enters the bloodstream and without the immune system it cannot be stopped because the immune
system fights off the virus. And without it fighting off viruses the body is prone to any diseases
and viruses like the t cell which keeps the flu virus away from the body. And the Bubonic plague
kills the t cell which now it is prone to the flu. And it also attacks the b cell which makes antibodies
which helps the body become healthier and safer....show more content...
"The key enzyme is a substance produced by a living organism that acts like a catalyst to bring
about a specific biochemical reaction.(John72)" The key enzyme is what holds it together but the is
other parts that make the Bubonic plague so deadly. The function of it is it enters the body from the
nostrils or mouth because it is an airborne disease that attacks your Immune system and could
potentially kill people very

The Bubonic Plague Essay
The Bubonic Plague
Introduction
Plague, was a term that was applied in the Middle Ages to all fatal epidemic diseases, but now it is
only applied to an acute, infectious, contagious disease of rodents and humans, caused by a short,
thin, gram–negative bacillus. In humans, plague occurs in three forms: bubonic plague, pneumonic
plague, and septicemic plague. The best known form is the bubonic plague and it is named after
buboes, or enlarged, inflamed lymph nodes, which are characteristics of the plague in the groin or
neck or armpit. Bubonic plague can only be transmitted by the bite of any of numerous insects that
are normally parasitic on rodents and that seek new hosts when the original host dies. If the plague is
left untreated...show more content...
Symptoms and Causes
The first symptoms of the bubonic plague are headache, vomiting, nausea, aching joints and a
feeling of ill health. The lymph nodes of the groin or of the armpit or neck suddenly start to
become swollen and painful. The pulse and respiration rate of a bubonic plague victim is
increased, and the victim will become listless and exhausted. The buboes will swell until they are
approximately the size of a chicken egg. If a case is nonfatal than the temperature will begin to fall
in about five days, and approaches normal in about two weeks, but in fatal cases death will probably
occur within four days.
Yersinia Pestis, an infectious agent is the cause of the Bubonic Plague. Yersina Pestis is a bacteria,
which means the cells lack the internal organization of eukaryotic cells. These bacteria cells would
contain the membrane but they would not be able to subdivide the inside of the cell. These bacteria
cells do not have a nucleus so instead they have a nucleiod that contains genetic material. The two
types of bacteria cells are gram–negative and gram–positive. Yersina Pestis is gram negative and that
means that antibiotics are less effective on the plague because of a lipopolysaccharide layer over
their walls that adds extra protection.
Lymphatic System
The bubonic plague has a major impact on the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is made up
of lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, lymphoid

Effects Of The Bubonic Plague
The Black Death was one of the most shocking epidemics in human history. Caused by a single flea
weighing 1.08 mg, carrying Yersinia pestis, a bacterium that would is responsible for the plague
(Lee, 2017). The bubonic plague of 1347–1350, killed up to 1/3 of the population throughout Europe
and turned its social structure into a tailspin.
Significant modifications in population have severe outcomes on social structure. When the plague
rolled into Europe, it was not bias on who it would infect. It attacked the weak, strong, rich, and
poor, men, women, and children of all ages and Europe saw a dramatic drop in population which
caused turmoil within the economy for those that survived. Large plantations were left without
successors and

The Bubonic Plague
"The Black Death and the World After It"
The Bubonic Plague, often acknowledged as the worst epidemic in the history of Europe, also
known as the Black Death, the Black Plague, and the Pestilence, the worst time was 1348–1350. By
the end of 1350, according to Zarlengo, almost three fourths of the population had been decimated.
Today the Pestilence has an antibiotic cure and since rats and fleas are kept at a low and are not
shipped from one place to another, we have less of a chance of getting it again. However, at that
point there was no cure and people died by the hundreds.
Ships commonly traveled between Europe and the East, but precious cloth and other trades were not
the only thing to arrive in Europe. Bordeaux a port city in France was...show more content...
Some people, especially the religious, clung more fiercely to their beliefs. The Church was the one
thing that would not pass away or fall to shambles. Humans are wont to cling to a constant in times
of trouble and the Church proved to be the rock in the river.
While the Black Death had many adverse effects, there were good ones too. Since there were
fewer peasants to work, they could demand higher wages, they could even move up classes. The
serf system was collapsing from all the deaths. Nobody could stop serfs from up and leaving. As
independence spread, so did law breaking. People would enter the dead's homes and steal or stay in
the house. Criminals would rape, steal, and kill on the streets and nobody would stop them. These
felons would justify their actions by claiming it was the end of the world or that nobody cared.
There were very little respect for the dead. The few left to bury the dead dumped the bodies in
mass graves, in the rivers, and burned them in great piles. Proper burial rites could not be done
for hundreds at a time. Most graves were more like lasagnas since people and dirt were just layered.
Rivers were clogged with the dead and there were huge piles of ashes. What was the point in
burying each body individually? It was hard enough as it was to get enough space to make mass

When Bubonic Plague visited England in 1348, it was called the Great Mortality. We know it as the
Black Death that lasted until 1352 and killed vast populations in Asia , North Africa , Europe ,
Iceland , and Greenland . In total, it extinguished as much as fifty percent of the world's population.
In England , bubonic plague on average killed at least one–third of all inhabitants between 1348 and
1349. In London alone, one out of two people died during the visitation. The bottom line is that every
English man, woman, and child at the time encountered plague in some way, and all feared it.
After 1352, the plague became endemic in England , flaring up routinely and then yearly from 1485
to 1670. Within those two centuries, the plague...show more content...
Most major European centers felt the impact of the Black Death. It reached Sicily in 1346, Italy
in early 1347, and towards the end of 1347 was in Marseilles , France . In 1348 it attacked Spain
and spread throughout Germany and France . It arrived in London early in the same year and by
1349 was in Oxford and spread throughout England where it was present until 1359. Scotland was
affected rather later. 2
"In any given period, the plague accomplished its work in three to six months and then faded from
view. The plague came and went like a tornado–– its appearance and movement was totally
unpredictable. In northern cities, the plague lay dormant in winter and then reappeared the
following spring. In 1349, the plague reappeared at Paris and eventually spread to Holland ,
Scotland and Ireland . In Norway , a ghost shipped drifted offshore for months before it ran
aground with its cargo of death. By the end of 1349, Sweden , Denmark , Prussia , Iceland and
Greenland felt the full effects of the plague. The plague left nearly as quickly as it had appeared. By
mid–1350, the plague had completed its deed across the continent of Europe ". 3
The mortality rate of the Black Death was horrendous. It is estimated in various parts of Europe at
two–thirds to three–quarters of the population. In England it was even higher during the first wave.
Some countries were less seriously affected. Shrewsbury, the author of 'History of Bubonic Plague in

Bubonic Plague Research Papers
The Black Plague, also known as the Bubonic Plague, is a severe pandemic that came from fleas,
scientifically known as yersinia pestis, and rats. The disease started in China and spread 5
kilometers per day to Europe in 1347 killing two–thirds of the population within five years. Many
people got acral necrosis, or a striking black discoloration of the skin black tongues, open
wounds, black boils on the skin and a horrible odor, which eventually caused them to die within
just a few days. This disease caused people to carry herbs around their necks to prevent the nasty
smell, peasants even asked for more pay, and biological warfare begun. There is no cure for the black
plague and many people blamed the Jewish people and Lepers and began persecution

Bubonic Plague Dbq Essay
Europe was hit with the Bubonic Plague, also known as The Black Death, in 1347 devastating the
European Society. The Bubonic Plague was hard to get away from due to the conditions in Europe
and took many lives. The Bubonic Plague also influenced religion and started changing the normal
European society into a new one.
The Bubonic Plague came to Europe in 1347. It was brought on ships with goods from Asia. The
disease followed on trade routes as it swept through Europe. The manure and trash in Europe
helped the disease spread and hard to get away from since the disease was carried by rats. The
plague began with swellings as big as apples. The swellings spread as the body started to be covered
in dark spots and sickness set in (document

Bubonic Plague Papers
In this paper I will be talking about the Bubonic Plague. The Bubonic Plague is a plague known
by many because of its extremely large death toll. I will be talking about many points or ideas in
this paper which include the origin, how it spreads, what people who are infected feel and look
like, etc. First, I will be talking about the origin of the Bubonic Plague.
The Bubonic Plague peaked between 1348 and 1350 in Europe. People also called the Bubonic
Plague "Black Death". The plague is thought to be caused by a bacterium called Yersinia Pestis. The
Bubonic Plague was spread to Crimea in 1346 most likely by fleas on rats that traveled there on
merchant ships. The Bubonic Plague is responsible for the death of about one–third of Europe's
population in the 1300s. It also killed approximately 12 million people in China in the mid–1800s.
...show more content...
The lymph or lymphatic system is a major component of your body's immune system. Then
finally your lymph system becomes inflamed. Most of the time the Bubonic Plague is spread by a
bite from an infected rodent or flea. It is very rare but it can also be spread from person to person
contact. Another way it can be spread is from a piece of clothing that is contaminated or other
material used by a person that has the plague. The bacteria enters the body through an opening in the
skin.
People that get the Bubonic Plague feel like they just have the flu. They have similar symptoms to
the flu which include fever, headache, chills, and weakness. There is also another symptom that is
not like the flu. This symptom is swollen lymph nodes which are called buboes. The buboes that
you get are usually about the size of chicken eggs. The buboes that you get are commonly located in
the groin, armpit, and/or the neck area. They are also usually tender and warm to the

The Plague
The Black Death
"The Black Death" is known as the worst natural disaster in European history. The plague spread
throughout Europe from 1346–1352. Those who survived lived in constant fear of the plague's return
and it did not disappear until the 1600s. Not only were the effects devastating at the time of
infection, but during the aftermath as well. "The Black Death" of the fourteenth century dramatically
altered Europe's social and economic structure.
The plague was spread by fleas, which were not effected by the disease. Fleas first infected the rats,
which lived off garbage and sewage. The rats then spread the infection to the humans. Rats were a
common sight in the cities, due to the poor sanitary conditions, so no one...show more content...
"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic
change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death"
continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had
already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty–five years before "The Black Death," exports,
agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death"
contributed a large part to all of this destruction and led to important changes in the social and
economic structure of the country (Ziegler 234–235). The plague touched every aspect of social life
(Herlihy 19). There was hardly a generation that was not affected by the plague
(www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Families were set against each other– the well rejecting the
sick (www.byu.edu). Families left each other in fear. Many people died without anyone looking after
them. When the plague appeared in a house, frightened people abandoned the house and fled to
another (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Due to this, the plague spread more rapidly because
people were not aware that being in the same house with the infected person had already exposed
them to it. Physicians could not be found because they had also died. Physicians who could be found
wanted large sums of money before they entered the house (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu).
When the

Bubonic Plague: A Genetic Analysis
Genetic drift is essentially a process in which the frequency of alleles change randomly due to
sampling error between generations. It can lead to major changes in a population over a short
period of time and can also lead to a fixation of alleles in that population, increasing homozygosity.
Heterozygote advantage is the potential advantage that could arise out of having a single allele of a
gene, even if that gene is "bad". With a heterozygote advantage, heterozygote carriers of a certain
disease will be more likely to survive than with people without the disease allele. Since it helps
survival, the gene spreads more throughout the population, which is why genetic diseases are
occurring more often. Hemochromatosis is most common genetic variant in people of the Western
European descent because of the bubonic plague....show more content...
Macrophages is a type of white blood cell that hemochromatosis does not tend to distribute any iron
to which causes the cells to lack iron, providing an advantage to those during the bubonic plague.
This directly relates to heterozygote advantage––because Europeans survived carried this mutation,
natural selection caused the gene to spread throughout the population, which is why it is common
among them. Similarly, with cystic fibrosis, heterozygote advantage played an important role here
as well, as carriers of this mutation helped protect people from tuberculosis. Tuberculosis caused of
20% of European deaths between the 1600's–1900's, which is why this gene spread among the
European population over the years. With both these genetic mutations that provided some form of
protection from the plague and tuberculosis, genetic drift also has a chance to increase frequency of
alleles and homozygosity, which helps explain why more people would carry two alleles over the
years, thus making the diseases apparent and ultimately

Essay On The Bubonic Plague
The Bubonic Plague in England
The Bubonic Plague, often called the Black Death, is the name given to a deadly plague that was
spreading during the Fourteenth Century. The plague spread through China, Europe, as well as
western parts of Asia. It got its name from the painful swellings in lymph nodes, called buboes,
which appeared on those infected with the plague. There was no cure for the disease, only
treatments for the symptoms. This allowed for a rapid, massive spread of the disease. The plague
reduced the world's population from an estimated 450 million to about 350–375 million. The
Bubonic Plague is most commonly known for its medical affects and the number of deaths it
caused. However, it also had a huge impact, both positive and negative, on the economic, social,
political, and cultural aspects of life. The Bubonic Plague is a bacteria–born disease. Yersinia pestis
is a bacteria that was carried in the blood of rats. Parasitic...show more content...
pestis would use the bloodstream to seek out lymph nodes. Plague favors lymph nodes in the groin,
under arms, neck, or behind the ears. As bacteria reproduce in the lymph nodes, the organs swell
into buboes (Cunningham). The buboes were red at first, but would later turn into a dark purple
color or even black. This is why it is sometimes also called "The Black Death". The infected person
may also experience headaches, fever, chills, vomiting, pain, and extreme exhaustion. Victims
would die in roughly two to six days after becoming infected. The plague was able to spread to
many different countries and continents via immigration, trade routes, and war. When the plague
erupted in England, they were in the midst of the Hundred Years War with France. The plague
erupted during this war, which provided perfect conditions for the disease to spread. There was a
large number of people centralized in a particular area, making it easy for the passing of the plague
from one infected person to

Bubonic Plague Case Study
1.Disease
The Bubonic Plague or 'Black Death' is a potentially fatal disease that spread rapidly and most
famously, throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. The disease is spread by the Bacterium,
Yersinia pestis, and has caused widespread death.
2.Causes
Millions of people across the European continent contracted the disease from flea bites, which
derived from infected rodents and small animals that had passed the bacterium onto fleas. (A.D.A.M,
2015). It has been established that the Bubonic plague is rarely spread from person to person so the
main mode of transmission was through infected rat fleas, and was given to humans through flea
bites. However, the disease was sometimes passed onto humans through contact with infected rodents
...show more content...
However, with the work of modern medicine, antibiotics such as streptomycin, gentamicin and
doxycycline have been developed to treat the plague. However, if treatment is not received within 24
hours of contracting symptoms, death can result. (NLM, 2013) With the development of antibiotics
to treat the plague, treatment reduces your chances of mortality to 15%, but without treatment the
prognosis for a person infected with the bubonic plague has a 50% to 90% death rate. Furthermore, if
left untreated, the bubonic plague can either multiply in the bloodstream, causing septicaemic
plague, or progress to the lungs, causing pneumonic plague, both of which have a higher mortality
rate, even with antibiotic treatment. However, several preventive measures can be taken to limit
your risk of contracting the disease, active immunization with a vaccine of killed bacteria offers
protection against the bubonic plague. This particular vaccine is administered in three doses, with
the first two 1 – 3 months apart, and dose three administered 5 – 6 months after the second vaccine.
However, booster shots are required every 6 months in high risk areas, such as western USA. (UCLA,

Bubonic Plague
During 1348– 1349, a devastating sickness swept over all of Western Europe that wiped out about
half of the population. The Black Death, also known as The Plague and the Bubonic Plague, killed
thousands over the span of two summers. The Black Death was caused by the bacteria Y. Pestis,
which normally lives dormant in a flea's stomach. However, when a flea bites a rat, the rat becomes
infected, which eventually leads to a human being infected. Since rats had a high abundance in
1348–1349, the disease was very easily spread to humans, where it then became airborne
(pneumonic), bubonic, or spread throughout the blood, also known as systemic. (The Black Death).
The hard hit of The Black Death led to a decrease in available workers. Many of the workers had
died due to The Plague, so employers were struggling to find workers for their land and shops. The
laborer shortages forced employers to improve their working conditions and increase their pay
wages, which was an extensive plus for the serfs. Those who were originally tied to one employer or
piece of land could then choose who to work for or where to work. This was a...show more content...
Many people of the Catholic religion believed that God could stop the spread of the disease, or
even heal their loved ones. However, when The Plague continued to wreak havoc across Europe,
many people turned against their religion. There was also a large decrease of priests that had died
due to The Plague, so the amount of churches in many areas simply ceased. The Plague also caused
a decline in the Jewish population, however, the disease itself wasn't what hurt them. Because
Jewish prejudice was already so high, the Jews were looked at as scapegoats. Much of the
population accused the Jews of poisoning the water wells, making them responsible for The Plague.
Although this reasoning is highly unlikely, much of the Jewish population fled to Poland and Russia
to get away from the

Bubonic Plague Essay

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