Article by Rashmi Wickramasinghe
“Oh God!”
Fear clouded in the crowd gathered in the harbor seeing the sailors covered in boils, oozing puss, and blood. More to their dismay, the lifeless bodies outnumbered the living. But the only living thing on board was not humans. There were small rodents hiding behind the shadows. Authorities acted quicky and ordered the ships to fleet away, but they were not fast enough.
Is this a piece of fiction? No! This actually happened in the early 1340s in Europe marking the beginning of a pandemic that took lives of more than 40% of the population of Europe. It’s called Black Death.
Why it’s called Black Death?
Black death got its name because most of the infected died and the tissues got blackened due to gangrene.
Who is responsible for Black Death?
The cause of the plague is the Yersinia pestis bacterium. When infected, it takes 1-7 days incubation period and after the period symptoms appear.
Three types of the plague
The Bubonic Plague – The most common type. Lymph nodes in the base of the neck, armpits and groin swelled causing pain. They oozed puss and bled. The infected showed symptoms like headache, nausea, and joint pain. Deaths happened 4–7 days after getting infected. Mortality rate was 30-70%.
The Pneumonic Plague – The plague was airborne and infected the lungs primarily. Mortality rate was 90–95%.
The septicaemic plague – The rarest type. Caused deadly blood poisoning. The disease was spread by biting of infected insects. Mortality rate was 99-100%.
How did it spread?
The disease is said to be originated in Asia and spread around the world by trading ships.
Rodents act as the host for the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. There are two types of rodents, one resistant to the disease but act as hosts and the other not resistant. When the non-resistant rodents die the fleas on them moves to the other population and humans. This created Black death to be a human plague.
The pneumonic plague can be spread by inhaling of droplets from an infected person. Exchange of infected body fluids and contaminated material are also ways of infection.
Is it still out there?
Yes! According to the WHO, 3248 cases and 584 deaths were reported from the year 2010 to 2015, worldwide.
In old times people believed the plague was a God’s punishment for the sins of humans. Since they believed the only way to overcome the disease was winning the god’s mercy, they massacred thousands of Jews.
How to cure?
Back then a mixture of White Lillie roots, tree resin, and human excrements was applied as a treatment. Bathing was done in vinegar and rosewater. 40 days quarantine system was used to prevent spreading of the plague. Later antibiotics were invented as a treatment. Vaccination is not recommended except for the laboratory personnel who are in high risk of contamination.