Rats acted as vectors as they carried the infected fleas into the cities. One factor that influenced the spread was that in 1350 hygiene was inadequate and often food and faeces were left in the streets this meant that the cities ect was teeming with rats as they had an appropriate food source and habitat. Humans lived alone side rats but since the rats carried the fleas the fleas would bite the people who lived there thus infecting them. The next factor is that the rats began to die of the plague so household pets or other animals started feeding on them thus becoming infected. Since pets were becoming more common they had access to the household. These pets would then bite or scratch or perhaps carry the infected fleas and pass the infection
In 1347, rats on ships brought fleas infected with the bacillus that caused the Bubonic Plague, or Black Death. Within four years, between 1347 and 1351, the Death had spread across much of Europe. Between 25 and 50 percent of the population of Europe died of the disease. The Plague led to fanatical religious practices such as flagellation, when people whipped themselves to atone for the sins they believed had caused the disease.
Firstly, there were no sewers and all waste was dumped either on the streets or in the rivers. To make matters even worse, London had lots of ports which allowed rats with infected fleas the ability to get into London. Because of all the factors that made London so unsanitary, the Black Plague spread very quickly. Within weeks of the first victim in London getting infected, it was dangerous to even stand outside. The only people outside were plague physicians.
People grew more and more concerned with contracting the disease that they would try to isolate themselves, “… and human aid was as vail as it was destructive to those who approached the infected.” ( Hecker, J. C., & Babington, B. G., pg 6) This quote shows the tremendous devastation that the plague caused since once the person was infected there was very little that could be done to save that person and in turn the risk that people faced when attempting to help someone would only kill them. The concern with contacting the disease was so terrifying since they would die a painful death that even mothers and fathers would abandon their children as soon as they discovered that they were infected. (DeWitte, S., & Slavin,
It spread rampant among the trade routes to Constaninople and Europe. It claimed the lives of close to sixty percent of the European population. The massive labor shortages are is what to be said what helped boost the emergence of the Renaissance in the 14th century. The Modern Plague also began in China in 1860 in Hong Kong. In just twenty years it had spread to port cities by rats on steamships.
The growing population allowed the infected fleas, all over the body, to jump from body to body much quicker and easily than before, increasing the spread of the plague throughout Europe. The growing population also bought on a drought in food meaning the people could not keep up nutrition to protect themselves from the fast growing plague. The increase in population for villages also meant that there was a lot less living space making the homes more cramped and closely packed allowing the plague to move more quickly throughout Europe. The trade and trade routes were a major part towards the spread of the plague but was not the only way the Black Death
The plague then started to infect thousands and thousands until 35% of Europe’s population was deceased. This reduced the world population in total to seventy-five to one hundred million people. Massive loss of life was caused. For a short time war stopped and trade declined. Many of the serfs died, so the remaining ones demanded higher wages.
The flea was the disease vector and rats, along with other mammals, were the hosts. A bacteriologist named Theobald Smith discovered that ticks and other arthropods can transmit diseases such as Texas cattle fever. His
Thousands of years ago, a plague invaded the human world. The plague ' 'was know by the Great Pestilence, The Great plague, and the Black death ' '(Intro Doc). The plague attacked and kill around 25% and 45% of the societies it touch and/or encountered. The plague was made of three bacterial strains which created the three plagues called bubonic, pneumonic, and septimic. At this time of desesperation and agony in most homes religion such as Islam and Christianity became the most powerful force in the lives of people.
The Black death is known around the world, in some parts its called the plague, while others call it the bubonic plague. No matter the name the people know the damage that the black plague caused and how it changed society, some of the ways that it changed society were. The black plague was mostly caused by bad hygiene and diseases being spread and back in the late 1330’s, everyone had diseases and especially rats these filthy creatures were the main cause of the spread of the black plague. Also, it killed millions of people, it scared everyone to death because they had no medicine back then so they thought it was going to kill the whole human race, also their was no cure for the black plague during the following years 1348-1349. When the black plague had eventually ended it had taken with it more than 25 million people died that was about 25 to 50%
The reason the bubonic plague was so devastating to the European society is because no one was prepared for so many people to die so quickly. This event that reached Italy in the spring of 1348 was one of the most deeply stressing moments of humanity that faced most of Europe. No only did 50% of Europe’s population die it affected every single part of the European society. The culture, education, economy, religion, and the simplicity of life was turned upside down from this epidemic. Not only was were the symptoms of the plague bad, while you had the symptoms you suffered with the misery effects of the plague that there was no cure for.
They were able to spread and kill to the extent they did due to the lack of medical knowledge at the time and the lifestyle during the era--A poor diet, lacking hygiene, abundant rats and lice all contributed to
The Mongols can be accredited to spreading it to Europe as a result of their actions at Caffa. The Mongol Army transmitted the disease to wherever they went. At Caffa, the Mongols catapulted their infected bodies into the city. As a result, it can be concluded that the Mongols were “responsible for infecting the inhabitants of Caffa”.(Wheelis) From there, the plague easily spread to Italy and then the rest of Europe.
The Black Plague was a horrible epidemic that killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered. The plague spread from China to Europe and the Middle East quickly. While the Black Plague hit the Middle East and Europe, Christianity and Islam were the dominant religions. Though they both lived through the horrifying experience of the Black Plague, they had different responses, and Muslims had the most reasonable one.
During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place
The Black Plague During the Renaissance period a disease was brought to Europe that is known as the “Black Plague”. A ship came from China that brought rats infested with fleas, carrying the plague to Sicily. Many people aboard the ship were already dead from the disease and the ship was ordered to leave the harbor, but it was too late. Sicily was then overcome by the disease and it spread through the trade routes all over Europe.