The first signs of the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death was in the 1340s. The Bubonic Plague is a bacterial infection, that is mainly found in rats, field mice, squirrels and their fleas (National Geographic, 2018). The bacteria that causes the plague is Yersinia Pestis. The bubonic plague is the most common plague, other types are pneumonic and septicemic plague. Pneumonic plague is when the bacteria gets in the lungs. Septicemic is even more dangerous than the bubonic plague, because when it’s septicemic, it gets in your blood. The statistics are raising around fifty percent. The bubonic plague was so deadly back in the 1340s because they did not have any antibiotics for it. The plague still exists to this day, in many parts of the world, in 2003 there were more than 2,100 cases and 180 deaths due to it in Africa (National Geographic, 2018). In 2017, the bubonic plague killed over 200 people in Madagascar. It killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe. After about 3-7 days prior to coming in contracting the disease, you will have “flu-like” symptoms. You will also have signs and symptoms such as bleeding, delirium, shortness of breath, headache, phlegm, or swollen and tender lymph nodes. The bubonic plague still exists to this day. The way you get the plague is when you are bitten by a flea that has been infected by the bacteria, Yersinia Pestis. People thought that the black death was gone, but to this day there are still cases of it. The United States has an average of seven cases each year of the plague in recent decades. The black death is not as deadly as it use to be, because we have discovered antibiotics for it. The different links to break this chain of infection are the causative agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host. The causative agent which is the infected pathogen is Yersinia Pestis. The reservoir is where the pathogen lives, the pathogen for the bubonic plague lives in social ground-burrowing rodents. Rodents such as rats, field mice, and squirrels. Next is the portal of exit, that is when the microorganisms leave the body. The pathogen travels through the blood of a flea. Mode of transmission is where the causative agent travels from the reservoir to the susceptible host. The mode of transmission for the plague is through the bite of a flea. The portal of entry is where the pathogen enters the uninfected person (Ziegler, 2010). Yersinia Pestis enters the body through a break of the skin. Susceptible host is anyone who is at risk for the infection. The susceptible host for the bubonic plague is anyone who is not immune to Yersinia Pestis.
Why is there still cases of the plague if it has been around since the 1340s? It is recommend that if you are working in the laboratory with Yersinia Pestis (Y.Pestis), then you get a vaccination. Beginning in the 19th century there have been multiple attempts at creating a vaccine for the bubonic plague but, there effectiveness has never been measured accurately. Although field experience shows that vaccination with the plague vaccine reduces the severity of disease resulting from the bite of infected fleas. Under all circumstances anyone exposed to plague from patients who has pneumonia should be given a 7 to 10 day course of antimicrobial therapy regardless of vaccination history. Antimicrobials that should be given include tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, or streptomycin. In the US the plague vaccine that is licensed is prepared from Y.pestis organisms that are grown in artificial media, then inactivated with formaldehyde, and preserved in 0.5% phenol. Some of the contents of the vaccine are trace amounts of beef heart extract, agar, and peptones and peptides of soya and casein It is recommend that if you are working in the laboratory with Yersinia Pestis (Y.Pestis), then you get a vaccination (CDC, 2018).
Unlike many people may think the bubonic plague was not just a disease of the poor as many wealthy people even princesses and princes contracted the deadly disease. However by the third wave of the plague in the last decades of the 14th century, burial records and tax registers show that that the disease had begun to sweep the households of mainly the poor. From 1348-1349 The Worst hit areas were isolated and mountain zones. An example is Snowdonia in Wales or in the mountain village of Mangona, north of Florence who communications were far less often with cities than other regions. Cities in Europe that managed to minimize the plague beyond their borders were those that implemented quarantine, border controls at city gates, harbors and mountain passes. It was concluded the bubonic plague spread at a rate of a mile a day but on other accounts has been measured to have possibly exceeded 8 miles a day at some points. It is thought that the black death travelled over 30 to 100 times quicker on land in the 19th century compared to the 20th century (History Extra, 2018).) In the 19th century people were so desperate to find a cure to the plague they began to create several almost laughable ways such as being happy. avoiding thinking about it, not eating fruit, putting fragrant herbs in beverages and many more. The rate for anyone who caught the plague was 30-75%. Medieval doctors believed the plague had at least one of several causes , many thought it was a punishment from god for the sins of the people. Many also believed the plague was caused by pockets of bad air released by earthquakes or by an unfavorable alignment of Saturn, Jupiter, and mars in the 40th degree of aquarius on March 20th 1345. The christians also had many crazy conspiracies about the plague. They blamed the jews for causing the plague to destroy their religion, even though they were just as likely to be infected as the christians. After being subject to prolonged periods of torture , some Jews even confessed that they were poisoning wells and other water sources, creating the plague. As a result of forced confessions about spreading the black death, jews were killed by the 1000’s. Around the same time bathing was discouraged for multiple reasons. Among them was bathing was believed to open up the pores, making it easier for bad air to enter and exit the body which would spread disease. Eau de Cologne and other perfumes were used during the plague to cover up odors due to people not bathing or changing clothing. Music was also highly impacted by the black death. Prior to the devastating disease music was plentiful and very cheerful, but that soon changed. Music began to become rare and grim as the plague ripped through the hearts of many towns and cities killing hundreds of thousands. Other art forms, including visual arts and literature, also reflect the misery of the time period (Fact Retriever, 2018).
In conclusion, the Bubonic Plague was very deadly in the 1340s, because they did not have the antibiotics that we have now. It was a devastating pandemic in Europe, it had taken a third of Europe’s population in three years. Some people thought that only poor people could get the plague. It is not as common nowadays as it was in the 1340s because we have discovered antibiotics for it, but there are still cases of it. There’s an average of 7 cases per year in the United States.