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Bubonic Plague Research Paper

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The bubonic plague remains to this day one of the most deadly events of all time. The number of those infected rose exponentially every day and it had a large death rate. What made the virus so deadly was the quick and easy spread that left people helpless to the infection. The plague was so detrimental that the effects of the Black Death can even be seen in today’s society.
The plague is believed to have started in Asia, of course it is very hard to prove the exact starting location of a disease from the 14th century but that is where evidence points. The plague then spread along the path of the old Silk Road and hit Europe. The plague hit Europe hard and spread like wildfire; however, let’s back up and focus on the spread across the Silk
Road. The plague began in …show more content…

The plague is kept in a constant state of movement between these different vectors, “The bacteria that cause plague, Yersinia pestis, maintain their existence in a cycle involving rodents and their fleas. In urban areas or places with dense rat infestations, the plague bacteria can cycle between rats and their fleas.” (Center for Disease

Control and Prevention). This cycle between fleas, rats, and humans played a major role in the spread through the Silk Road. Traders and travelers alike all moved together between cities along the path. Rats and fleas infected people and they carried the disease to cities that they stopped at. This caused countless cities to be infected all along the Silk Road and travelers continued to carry the disease unknowingly. Another way that the plague was transmitted was through merchant ships. Rats were known to infest ships at this time and this would have certainly spread the plague. An article on saylor.org commented on the spread of the plague by saying “From there, probably carried by Oriental rat fleas residing on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships, it spread throughout the Mediterranean and

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