Is Yersinia Pestis A Bacterial Infection Responsible For The Deaths Of Millions Of People?

The black plague, also known as the bubonic plague, swept its way across Europe beginning in 1346 A.D. , killing an estimated thirty to fifty percent of the total population. The plague was spread by fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, and was carried over oceans by hitchhiking rats and pet gerbils. The plague outbreak that decimated the population was transported by infected Christian merchants

The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is considered one of the most lethal in history. Recorded pandemics of the plague reach back to 541 A.D. and minor epidemics can still be found around the world (Plague). The plague consists of a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. This bacterium has the ability to mutate quickly and can easily destroy the immune system of the infected person, “it does this by injecting toxins into defense cells such as macrophages that are tasked with detecting bacterial infections. Once these cells are knocked out, the bacteria can multiply unhindered.” (Plague) The bubonic plague has a number of symptoms ranging from a headache to seizures. The most distinguishable

The roots of this fearsome plague are very chilling to think about knowing that a mere flea can be the cause of the bubonic plagues epidemic. The more specific medical or scientific term for this disease is Yersinia Pestis. This was named after the doctor, Alexandre Yersin, who isolated the bacteria in 1894 during the pandemic that began in China in the 1860’s. The earliest traces of Y Pestis can be found all the way back to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the 1320’s. The cause of the sudden eruption is yet to be solved but the earliest major toll it has taken in our history books is in China in the 1330’s during the expansion of trade in the middle and high

What is the plague? The plague or referred to as the Black Death, according to the CDC (2015), “is a disease that affects humans and other mammals and caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague”. There are three categories of a plague. There is the bubonic plague, which is the most common form. With this form bacteria infects the lymph system and causes it to become inflamed. Symptoms of this type of plague are fever, headache, chills, and swollen and tender lymph nodes, which are called buboes. Then there is the Septicemic, which occurs when the bacteria multiply in the blood. Symptoms of this type of plague are fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs. Also, skin and other tissues may turn black and die, especially fingers, toes and the nose (CDC, 2015). Then there is the Pneumonic Plague, which is the most serious form of plague and occurs when Y. pestis bacteria infect the lungs and cause pneumonia (NIH, 2015). This is the only form of the plague that can be transmitted human to human. Symptoms of this form of the plague are ever, headache, weakness, and a rapidly

In the 1300s the Bubonic Plague first entered Europe from Asian trade routes which resulted in

The black death, also known as the bubonic plague, swept across Europe in the 14th century. During its time the plague claimed an estimated seventy five million lives. The plague though not longer existant, made a large impact as it was spread rapidly through the population. The plague first arrived in Europe in 1347.

The black death first appeared in the Middle East and Europe in 1348. The black death swept through Asia and continued west and northwest through North Africa, Europe and the Middle East (Document 1). The black death was transmitted via fleas living in the fur of the black rat. The black death actually refers to the bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic plagues. The most common of these three strains was bubonic. Some symptoms

A highly contagious disease, the Bubonic Plague, spread swiftly throughout European trade routes. It is believed that the disease originated in China, and spread to Europe via the Afro-Eurasian trade network. The great contagion of the black death is reflected in Document 1. The first record of the black death in Europe was on June 30th, 1347,

The Bubonic Plague or the Black Death has been in the history books since the medieval times. This deadly disease has claimed nearly 1.5 million lives in Europe (Gottfried). The Black Death hit Europe in October of 1347 and quickly spread through most of Europe by the end of 1349 and continued on to Scandinavia and Russia in the 1350s. Not only did the plague effect the European population by killing one-third to two-thirds (Gottfried), it also hurt the social and economic structures of every European society.

Hundreds of years ago, a plague swept over the known world. The Great Plague, Great Pestilence, and Black Death were a few of the names that it was given. In the Background Essay, it states that, "the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered." It was played a huge role in the history of the 14th century. There were three bacterial strains of the plague; all of them were deadly. According

Plague is a very deadly bacterial disease. It has been a recurring force that has wiped out much of the world’s population during it’s outbreaks. The bacteria that is responsible for one of history’s most deadly diseases is Yersinia pestis. Yersinia pestis first infectes a rat. The rat is then the host for a flea. The flea feeds on the blood of the rat which is infected by the bacteria. For a reason still unknown today the bacteria started multiplying in the flea blocking it 's stomach. This caused the flea to throw up the infected rats blood into the human when it feeds on it.

In October, 1347 a devastating disease called the Bubonic Plague was brought to Europe leaving ⅓ of the population dead. This disease was also known as the Black Death. It was brought over via trade routes on Genoese ships. The main source of the plague was from rats which traveled to Europe on the ships. The fleas who had been hosted on the rats contributed to the spread by coming in contact with the humans.

The fatality rates of the three types of plagues are very scary. The first type of plague is called bubonic. The fatality rate is 50 percent. The scientific background of this disease is that it is what the plague starts off as. In other words mean that it progresses to the second type of plague which is septicemic. Septicment plague fatality rate is 65 to 75 percent. Scientists say that untreated victims , the rates raise almost double the original fatality rates. The worst case of the plague is called the pneumonic plague. This type of plague is the ONLY plague that is contagious. Therefore poeple with pneumonic plague are isolated and doctors are on constant 24 hour watch. In the United States the Plague has infected northern New Mexico and Arizona, Southern Colorado and Oregon, far western Nevada and California. The continents that have affected South America and Africa and South and Mid Asia. This disease is very painful. Starting with abdominal pain, which is also known as a stomach ache. Then comes the

The Bubonic Plague or the Black Death came into Europe when twelve trade ships came into an Italian port, after a long trip through the black sea. When it came into port, the Italian people were shocked to find that many of the ships sailors were dead, and the remaining living were overcome with black oozing boils. To stop the spread of this plague, the Italian people sent the ship back out into the ocean, but alas it was too late. Over the next five years, this plague would become extremely contagious and would kill about a fifth of Europe’s population. Although this was the first time they had seen this plague come into their

Yersenia pestis is the pathogen responsible for different types of plague such as: septicemic plague, pneumonic plague, and the bubonic plague. The purpose of this paper is to inform about the Bubonic Plague so the information given will focus on this type of plague. The plague itself is transmitted in several ways. One of them being rodents spreading it to other animals by the channels of fleas and soil that has been already contaminated. Bubonic Plague can develop from direct contact with an object that is contaminated with sputum that comes belongs to a person suffering from pneumonic plague. However, direct contact with sputum isn’t necessary, a person can be contaminated by inhaling droplets from a patient with primary pneumonic