...human existence. In the span of just five short years the Bubonic Plague managed to kill nearly one-third of Europe’s population, leaving very little answers and unclear causes to such a horrendous and aggressive plague. The most common result of the Bubonic Plague was death, killing more than eighty percent of infected individuals (Benedictow 2005). Living in a time with very little medical experience and scientific understanding, the Bubonic Plague and the middle 14th century was a recipe for disaster. The Bubonic Plague; now known to be caused by Yersinia pestis of the Bacillus species, was a devastating plague in the 14th century. The concept of a pneumatically- transmitted bacteria seemed to baffle the minds of the medieval people, leaving victims to question God and their own sanity. In untreated circumstances, the mortality rate of the Bubonic plague is more than of 50%, while in treated cases the mortality rate is under 15% (The Plague 2014). Since the lack of medical knowledge in this time, typically medical treatment could make the patient more susceptible to infection and even more susceptible to the Bubonic Plague’s more...
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...Kevin R. Glover Professor Schmitt English 2111-45 November 27, 2012 The Black Plague The Black Plague is a disease contracted from diseased animals, mostly by fleas, to human. The Black Plague then may be contracted by humans touching or breathing on one another. This disease is highly deadly and the bacterium that causes this disease is Yersinia Pestis. The Black Plague or as many call it “The Black Death” arrived in Europe by sea October 1347 when twelve Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after traveling through the Black Sea. Europe’s communities were devastated by the amount of suffering and death the disease brought to the people. The most common characteristic of the black plague is the black boils that appear all over the human body and then the boils bursts open with the blood oozing out black. The black blood that oozes out is why people call it the black plague. The symptoms of the disease can progress to other categories of the black plague which are: septicemia plague, pneumonic plague, and bubonic plague. The Sopticemic plague is the rarest deadliest bacterial infection caused by a bacterium called Yersinia Pertis. The plague begins to destroy the human body “when the bacterium enters the bloodstream through an open wound the person is known to be infected by plague. The bacterium multiplies in the blood and results in septicemic plague. This form of plague like the other types is capable of causing disseminated intravascular...
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...Introduction The Bubonic plague of the Middle Ages has proven itself to be one of the worst pandemics in history. Ebola, in the meantime, has also proven to be deadly and threatening since the outbreak in 2014. It upgraded itself from an outbreak to an epidemic. What if Ebola becomes a pandemic? Would it be deadlier than the Bubonic plague? This is the question that this thesis paper will attempt to find the answer to. This paper will provide detailed backgrounds of both of these diseases; including their history and historical relevance, their causes and effects, even their levels of damage and possible cures. This paper will expand your knowledge of both diseases to such an extent that you can accurately compare and contrast them in order...
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...Thousands dropping per day, millions of dead already. The black death, also known as the bubonic plague spread so fast that no one could do anything about it. The columbian exchange was a large part of the black death especially since the things who infected people lived on ships and boats. The reason the Black Death was named the Black Death was because the things that infected people were lack rats and fleas. You could get infected by either getting butten by a rat, or being bitten by a flea. The fleas were not actually infected with the disease though, the fleas carried the disease with themafter biting a rat. The flas could not digest all of the rats blood when sucking it, so it would carry it to the next person,it bites. The next person...
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...The Black Death Bubonic Plague The bubonic plague is a highly infectious and fearsome disease that attacks the lungs and lymph nodes. It is also called the Black Death or black plague. The bubonic plague is caused by Pasteurella pestis, a bacteria which resides within infected fleas and rats. Victims of the bubonic plague develop early symptoms, such as shivering, vomiting, headache, intolerance to light, back and limb pain, and a white coating on the tongue. Eventually, they develop black egg-sized swellings (buboes) filled with blood and pus under the armpits and in the groin. As the disease progresses, internal bleeding leads to black patches on the skin, and the victim may die in three to five days. Invasion of the lungs by the bacterium causes an equally fatal form of the plague called pneumonic plague, which can be transmitted from person to person by air droplets and saliva. Historical records document outbreaks of the plague as early as 430 b.c., when an epidemic struck Athens, Greece; but the most notorious bubonic plague epidemic began in Europe around 1346, reportedly when a ship of sick and dying sailors arrived at the Black Sea port of Caffa. This plague lasted four years and killed about one-third of the population of Europe, or approximately 20 million people. For hundreds of years after, epidemics of bubonic plague would sweep across the world killing millions more. The disease was so lethal that some victims supposedly would go to bed healthy and die in...
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...History of Black Death The Black Death – How the Black Death received its name The Black Death was so named due to its physical manifestation and its affect on society. The total number of deaths attributable to this devastating pandemic was 75 million people. The Black Death was characterized by painful swelling in the lymph nodes known as buboes so it was generally considered to be an outbreak of the bubonic plague. It was caused by the organism,Yersinia pestis which was carried about from the bodies of black rats by fleas. Victims of the disease were covered with dark blotches due to damage to the underlying skin and tissue. This medical phenomenon known as acral necrosis or subdural hemorrhages gave rise to the term black death. The...
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...The Black Plague The Black Plague was a pandemic, which reached England in June 1348-December 1349. It was later called “The Black Death” due to it killing around 50 million people. The Black Death has affected not only Europe, but other parts of the world killing many. Almost everyone feared the plague because it could possibly affect many of their lives, losing loved ones. New symbols and art were brought to the surface due to The Black Plague, such as plague doctors and even the famous song “Ring Around the Rosie”. Although there is a cure now it is still around today coming in many forms and types affecting people's daily lives. There are 3 major plagues the Justinian Plague, which was named after the 6th century Justinian emperor,...
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...archeologists, Bubonic plague may have originated from Egypt and not in Asia as originally thought. The disease is termed ‘Black Death’ and is said to have also begun in North Africa. Archeologists and fossil insect experts report that the disease may have distributed as a result of the flooding of River Nile that forced the rats to infest the human populated areas during the 3500 B.C. The causative agents of Bubonic Plague are known as Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) that are normally classified as Gram-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacilli. The coccobacilli are either rod or oval shape, and they is short. The Y. pestis metabolism is fermentative just like the other enterobacteriaceae, and they produce a thick antiphagocytic capsule that prevents the white blood cells from the ability to ward off the Y. pestis infection. In this paper, the disease Bubonic Plague will be discussed in details, including its causes, and the place where the recent outbreak has occurred. Introduction Bubonic Plague is brought by the Yersinia pestis, which is a Gam-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacilli. As learned in classes, the coccobacilli are rod or oval in shape, and normally short in size. Just like other Enterobacteriaceae, the Yersinia pestis has a fermentative type of metabolism, and they produce antiphagocytic capsule, which prevents white blood cells from wedding off the Y. pestis infection. The Y. pestis is a causing agent to a number of diseases including bubonic, septicemic and...
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...BUBONIC PLAGUE OR BLACK DEATH a) Causative agent: Yersinia pestis- the type of bacteria that causes plague b) Risk factor . The risk is very low. Only a few thousand people are getting exposed to plague. Most common in rural areas and in urban areas characterized by overcrowding, poor sanitation and a high rat population. Veterinarians and their assistants have a higher risk of coming into contact with domestic cats that may have become infected with plague. Camping, hunting or hiking in areas where plague-infected animals reside can increase your risk of being bitten by an infected flea. c) Geographic distribution: The bubonic plague is present in South America and the Western part of North America and in large area of Asia. The greatest number of human plague infections occurs in Africa. d) Symptoms: Wild rodents become infected but usually do not show clinical signs under normal conditions. The signs in animals are fever, pneumonia, and swollen lymph nodes. In humans, bubonic plague affects the lymp nodes. The humans will develops flu like symptoms after 3-7 days of exposure. The flu like symptoms would be muscle aches, headache, fever and chills. e) Method of Transmission: Flea bite. Wild rodents, rabbits, and mammals serve as the hosts to the fleas. During the plague outbreak many animals die and their hungry fleas seek out the blood to survive.It can also occur through direct contact with infected tissue of bodily fluids, by handling rodents, rabbits...
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...The Bubonic Plague Analysis Contents I. Abstract II. Introduction III. Background Information IV. Discussion V. Diagnosis Test VI. Prevention VII. Conclusion VIII. Bibliography Abstract According to archeologists, Bubonic plague may have originated from Egypt and not in Asia as originally thought. The disease is termed ‘Black Death’ and is said to have also begun in North Africa. Archeologists and fossil insect experts report that the disease may have distributed as a result of the flooding of River Nile that forced the rats to infest the human populated areas during the 3500 B.C. The causative agents of Bubonic Plague are known as Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) that are normally classified as Gram-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacilli. The coccobacilli are either rod or oval shape, and they is short. The Y. pestis metabolism is fermentative just like the other enterobacteriaceae, and they produce a thick antiphagocytic capsule that prevents the white blood cells from the ability to ward off the Y. pestis infection. In this paper, the disease Bubonic Plague will be discussed in details, including its causes, and the place where the recent outbreak has occurred. Introduction Bubonic Plague is brought by the Yersinia pestis, which is a Gam-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacilli. As learned in classes, the coccobacilli are rod or oval in shape, and normally short in size. Just like other Enterobacteriaceae, the Yersinia...
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...During the 1300s, a plague referred to The Black Death wiped out one third of Europe population. The Black Death was one of the largest wipe-outs in the world. After historians traced this plague, they discovered it began in the far East stucking China, Persia, Syria and Egypt first in 1340. Soon after, this deadly plague traveled its' way northwest when it arrived by sea in the mid 1300s. The 12 trading ships delivered the Black Death onto the dock at the Sicilian port of Messina which was soon discovered as one of the deadliest plague of all time. Not to mention The Plague of Justinian which killed a mere of 50 million people. Furthermore, after the Sicilians authorities discovered the origin of the reason for the deaths, they demanded that...
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...During the 15th and 16th century a big disease came into Europe making it a big agony and a suffering death for many people. This illness would be called “The Black Death,” for a reason because “They were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus.”("Black Death.")They would have to overcome a fever, unable to keep food down and causing delirious pain.Imagine yourself being in bed knowing that the black death is around and your perfectly healthy but knowing you could be dead the next morning. This wasn’t something that the people expected to happen and all of this came from something so tiny. So we are all wondering the same thing where would this disease start from? How did it spread so fast like wildfire? Well, your answer is “Fleas” these small animals rode on rats that hosted the disease-carrying fleas. This wasn’t the only thing that transmitted the disease if there was any contact with contaminated fluid or tissue you would end up getting bubonic plague or septicemic plague. “Scientists think that plague bacteria circulate at low rates within populations of certain rodents without causing excessive rodent die-off. These infected animals and their fleas serve as long-term reservoirs for the bacteria. This is called the enzootic cycle.”(“ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”)...
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...England during the 17th century was a time of disease and destruction. During this time, the bubonic plague killed thousands of Londoners and a massive fire destroyed the majority of the city. This era can be examined by studying London itself, events of the plague, and the incident of the fire. London during the mid-1660s was filthy; its streets were teeming with garbage, sewage, excrement, and other waste. The waste from the streets would end up going into the Thames river, contaminating it with garbage.i Among all of this trash, more than 460,000 people were living in loud, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions in London.ii These people were also the ones who were using the contaminated river water for cooking, drinking, and bathing....
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...helping to stop and slow down an epidemic. This was the case for the bubonic plague that was the plague in the book The Plague. Today more people are educated, which is causing the spread of Ebola to be contained. The Plague and Ebola...
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...is nothing new under the Sun". While HIV/AIDS may be a new disease, there is nothing new about a novel epidemic, which can potentially or actually decimate a population. In the late middle ages, the Black, now known as the Bubonic Plague, swept through Europe killing virtually half the population. It was introduced by a single or small group of rats that came to Italy abroad a trading ship from what is now Turkey. Small Pox transmitted by trade goods from the Hudson Bay Company wiped out entire Native American tribes. There are other examples of diseases accidentally introduced to a population that had no genetic immunity to them. Not to mention NASA's fear of an unbeatable super virus from outer space. Now as in previous diseases, one of the dangers of HIV/AIDS is not only in its plague proportions but also in the almost superstitious misunderstanding of the virus itself. In the treatment of all illness, it is necessary to understand the emotional, economic, psychological and sometimes even political impact that is brought about by the disease. This is particularly true with a disease that is as devastating and heretofore misunderstood as HIV/AIDS. AIDS is the punishment of God on sinners. AIDS is a plot by the CIA and the South African Government to wipe out the population of black Africa. AIDS is the result of medical experimentation during the development of the polio vaccine employing the use of rieces monkeys as guinea pigs. AIDS is this, AIDS is that; AIDS is the end of the...
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