THE BUBONIC PLAGUEMiss Hansen

10th Grade World History

WAIT… WHAT?

The Bubonic Plague

The Black Death

The Plague

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE

➤ Later named the Black Death

➤ Marks the outbreak from 1346 to 1352

➤ Not the first or last outbreak of this disease

➤ Still cases of the Plague around the world today

➤ Black Death: particularly catastrophic

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE

➤ The name “bubonic” comes from one of the early signs of the disease

➤ large, painful swellings called buboes

➤ stem from the lymph nodes of the victim

➤ Armpit, neck or groin area

➤ Other symptoms of the disease include:

➤ Overwhelmingly high fever (105 degrees)

➤ Victims became delirious

➤ Broke out in black splotches (hemorrhaging under skin)

THE DISEASE

➤ Yersina pestis is the bacterium that causes the Black Death

➤ Plague bacilli are found in many wild rodent populations across the world

➤ It’s transmitted from one rodent to another by fleas

➤ An infected flea’s bite will transmit the bacilli into the healthy rat’s bloodstream

➤ As rats die off, fleas must look for another warm-blooded host to feed on (like humans)

ORIGIN OF THE PLAGUE

SPREAD OF PLAGUE➤ Marmots, large rodents

native to central Asia

➤ Fur used for trade throughout this part of the world

➤ Once furs sent West…

➤ Hungry fleas jumped from fur to the next living thing they could find

➤ Infected fleas eventually latched onto rats

WATER ROUTES

➤ The plague reached Kaffa in about 1347

➤ Major port on the Black Sea

➤ Medieval Ships: prime dwelling for rats

➤ Crews slept, rats ran around, dropping fleas onto the decks below

➤ The plague was now being spread via land and water routes

MAPPING THE BLACK

DEATHPlease get with a

partner

MEDIEVAL EXPLANATIONS

➤ No one knew the details regarding the nature, cause or how the plague spread

➤ Their explanations: ➤ unfavorable astrological combinations or “misamas” ➤ witches ➤ Muslims blamed Christians and vice versa

➤ Both groups blamed the Jews ➤ God’s wrath on humankind (or on sinners)

FEATURES OF 14TH CENTURY LIFE

➤ Thatched roofs

➤ Household trash

➤ Straw on floors and in bedding

➤ nesting & food for rats/fleas

➤ Unwashed human bodies and woolen clothes (flea’s dream)

➤ Interconnectedness of the world

➤ long-distance trade

➤ religious pilgrimages

➤ Medieval towns/villages and homes = crowded

CONSEQUENCES

➤ Killed both rich & poor people; poor people more likely to die however

➤ The rich had nicer homes, whereas the poor had homes made out of poor materials and no help to keep them sanitary

➤ Mortality rates were also higher among physicians and priests

➤ attended to the sick and dying Doctors at the bedside of a

plague victim

CONSEQUENCES

SHORT-TERM

➤ Large number of deaths = labor shortage

➤ mini-boom in the slave trade

➤ wages and standard of living rose for survivors working

CONSEQUENCES

LONG-TERM

➤ Experience of plague = public health boards, use of quarantine, and university-level training for medial professionals

➤ Changes in settlement patterns (eastward migration of Jews)

➤ Shtetl culture emerges

➤ Increased tension between upper and lower classes

➤ Loss in confidence in the Church and political authorities

➤ Increase in individualism and personal religious beliefs

➤ Backdrop for Renaissance and Reformation?

➤ Emphasis on “good works”

THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH — PIETER BRUEGHEL

DANCE OF DEATH

BIOLOGY OF THE PLAGUEThe Human Body’s Response

to the Black Death

ECOLOGY & TRANSMISSION

➤ Bacteria called Yersinia pestis

➤ Maintain their existence via a cycle, involves rats & fleas

➤ The defining requirement for an epidemic (humans) is a rodent outbreak

➤ Transmitted by:

➤ Flea bites (bubonic plague)

➤ Contact with contaminated fluid or tissue (septicemic plague)

➤ Infectious droplets (pneumonic plague)

WHAT HAPPENS?

➤ After the flea bites the host, the bacteria suppresses the body’s natural inflammatory response

➤ The bacterium also uses proteins to protect themselves from the immune system

➤ They then take a ride on white blood cells and enter into the nearest lymph node

➤ The second they reach the lymph node, they multiply

SYMPTOMS

➤ Sudden onset of:

➤ Fever,

➤ Geadache

➤ Chills

➤ Weakness

➤ One or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes (buboes)

➤ The bacteria multiply in the lymph nodes closest to wherever the bacteria entered the body

DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT

➤ Have you traveled to the western United States?

➤ Have you experienced the rapid development of a swollen and painful lymph gland (bubo)?

➤ Have you had a known flea bite?

➤ Antibiotics are used for treatment of this illness

PREVENTION — TIPS FROM THE CDC

➤ Reduce the rodent habitat around your home, work place, and recreational areas

➤ Wear gloves if you are handling or skinning potentially infected animals to prevent contact between your skin and the bacteria

➤ Use repellent if you think you could be exposed to rodent fleas while camping, hiking, or working outdoors

➤ Keep fleas off of your pets by applying flea control products

➤ Do not allow dogs or cats to roam free in endemic areas to sleep on your bed