What is the Bubonic Plague? :: essays research papers

What is the Bubonic Plague?The Bubonic Plague is a disease that is caused by a germ called Yersinia pestis. Itis spread to humans by fleas from infected rodents. In the 1300s, fourth of the populationof Europe was destroyed. The disease causes swelling of the lymph glands (up to the sizeof a hens egg). The Greek word for groin is boubon, which is bubonic. The number ofreported human cases of this provoke in the United States has increased since the 1960sbecause the environment isnt staying clean. How do you get this disease? When a rat is infected, the flea bites the rat then theflea gets infected. The disease fills the stomach of the flea making it so the flea cantdigest any more blood. The flea then becomes so hungry that it bites the human. Now thehuman is infected. The first symptoms are headaches, nausea, vomiting and achingjoints. Some others are fever, chills, the most horrible the skin turns black. In the 1300s the plague spread so quickly in cities for many reasons. There wereno regular garbage pick-ups. They let their food become rotten and kept them in theirhomes for weeks. Left over meals were thrown onto the ground for animals, also feedingrats and fleas. They had no running water, so bathing was any once in a while.Galens theory was that the disease was spread by poisonous vapors coming fromswamps which corrupted the air. Heat was also believed to be a cause of the disease.People washed their feet and hands regularly but, not their bodies because this wouldopen pores, another way for the disease to enter the body. Three Major OutbreaksThe first plague was the Plague of Justinian. The plague followed trade routes toFrance and Italy. It killed 70,000 people. It killed 1,000 people weekly. Smaller outbreaks occurred up until 1340. The second major outbreak was the Bubonic Plague. It was the most devastating.It occurred in Europe in 1346-50. The Bubonic Plague is also known as the Black Death.It began in Kaffa, a cathedral town on the Crimean Coas t. By the end of 1348, the plaguecover all of Italy and most of France. By 1351, the Plague reached Russia. The third major outbreak was the Great Plague of London, in 1665 which killed17,440 people out of the total population of 93,000. A fire burned most of the city andended the outbreak. Human CasesThere have been cases of Bubonic Plague throughout the United States.