The Plague

Origins of Black Death

Spread of Black Death in Europe

Yersinia pestis

Carriers• Mice • Fleas • Lice • Prairie dogs • Cats • Dogs • Squirrels • Wood rats • Chipmunks

Rats & Fleas

Transmission

•Bites from infected rodent fleas•Direct contact with infected tissue

or bodily fluids• Inhaling infected droplets

3 forms of plague

•Bubonic•Septicemic•Pneumonic

Types of Plague: Bubonic

Types of Plague: Septicemic

Symptoms

• Fever • Chills • Weakness • Abdominal pain • Shock • Bleeding underneath the

skin or other organs

Types of Plague: Pneumonic

Incubation period• Bubonic: lymph system• Pnuemonic: lungs• Septicemic: blood

• 1-6 days symptoms appear

Medieval reactions Quarantines Avoid air Fires/Scents Food/sex/sleep Cures: bloodletting Religion:

flagellants/persecution of Jews

Death tolls• 20 million people

• 1/3 Europe’s population

• Cities lost more than 40%:

Paris: 50%Venice, Hamburg,

Bremen: 60%

Was It Really That Bad? - Black Death