The Black Plague
It is hard to believe a little flea could kill almost 20 million people in Western Europe. The Bubonic, or “Black Plague”, began in China in 1334. The bacillus, Yersinia pestis, existed in all forms of the plague and caused it. The disease was carried in the bellies of fleas that attached to rats. The Black Death subsided in the Russian Steppe in 1351. Bad hygienic conditions in Europe helped the epidemic spread. European lifestyle also changed greatly during and after the disease. As the Black Plague spread rapidly through Western Europe, people tried a variety of techniques to protect themselves as the legacy of the epidemic changed their lives forever.
The Black Death began in 1334 in China, but quickly spread to Europe. The disease rapidly spread to the coast of the Black Sea in 1346. In October of 1347, the plague hit Europe at the Port of Messina, Sicily. Three months later, the deadly disease reached southern Italy, southern Europe, Constantinople, and Alexandria, Egypt. In the January of 1348, the epidemic swept through Marseilles, France and in the spring, of the same year, arrived in Cairo, Egypt. It then went onto the Middle East, Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, and London in September of 1348. Florence, Italy had two doses of the plague, the first in 1347, and the second in the spring of 1348. Between the years 1349 and 1350 the plague hit England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, and Finland. The Black Plague finally reached its end at the Russian Steppe, in central Asia, in 1351. This disease spread swiftly because of small fleas that carried a bacillus.
The Black Plague spread quickly because of fleas that lived on rats. These bugs carried a bacillus called Yersinia pestis, the bacillus multiplied rapidly blocking the flea’s stomach, and caused the flea to starve. The pests needed another food source after the rat died; so fleas attached to nearby humans and fed on their blood, infecting the host. This extremely contagious
The Black Death began in 1334 in China, but quickly spread to Europe. The disease rapidly spread to the coast of the Black Sea in 1346. In October of 1347, the plague hit Europe at the Port of Messina, Sicily. Three months later, the deadly disease reached southern Italy, southern Europe, Constantinople, and Alexandria, Egypt. In the January of 1348, the epidemic swept through Marseilles, France and in the spring, of the same year, arrived in Cairo, Egypt. It then went onto the Middle East, Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, and London in September of 1348. Florence, Italy had two doses of the plague, the first in 1347, and the second in the spring of 1348. Between the years 1349 and 1350 the plague hit England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, and Finland. The Black Plague finally reached its end at the Russian Steppe, in central Asia, in 1351. This disease spread swiftly because of small fleas that carried a bacillus.
The Black Plague spread quickly because of fleas that lived on rats. These bugs carried a bacillus called Yersinia pestis, the bacillus multiplied rapidly blocking the flea’s stomach, and caused the flea to starve. The pests needed another food source after the rat died; so fleas attached to nearby humans and fed on their blood, infecting the host. This extremely contagious