The plague has been around years, and was often referred to as the perfect organism for it virulence. In the past, it has generally been passed down through fleas who will latch on to rats and pass on Yersinia pestis which is the bacterial cause of plague. If no rats or small rodents are available to attach to then a human is the next best thing. The plague could not have simply spread on its own though it involved many different societal factors, this includes expanded trade, poor sanitary conditions. Trade was a major factor in the spreading of the plague, it is believed that it first originated in Europe through trade which was conducted over the ocean. It is believed that various trade routes were connected to a port in Sicily and this is where the plague entered Europe from. Another way in which trade influenced the spread of plague is through textiles, this was a common good which was traded along various trade routes through eastern Europe. This combined with infected rats which boarded ships and brought the plague to various port towns in Europe, lead to a very rapidly spreading plague which in some cases eliminated up to 60% of the population of towns. The response by the various populations infected by the plague varied, initially is panic as in any society. The initial blame for the plague as in many cases in history were the Jews. The claim was that the Jews were poisoning the water, while this is obviously not true the people of that time needed a scape goat to blame for the horrible effects of the plague. The next response was misalignment of the planets which caused noxious vapors to be released and cause the horrible disease. The most notable effect that the plague caused was the flayement movement which was a group of radical Christians who believed that through self-harm they could earn gods forgiveness and stop the plague. this was not the case, they became so radical that they would kill any nonbelievers, raid churches and kill priest then hold their own prayer sessions. The political responses to the plague included various quarantines such as guarded ones also known as cordon quarantines, and various policies put into place which limited the type of people to enter in many cases Jews. The first use of maritime quarantine was recorded in 1377, in Venetian colony of Ragusa. The first was the trentino (30 days) and later the quarente (40 days). The plague changed the world, in many ways, first and foremost through the weakening of the church, throughout the plague many sects broke from the catholic church and many people lost faith after so many people died. The Jews were also blamed partially for the plague which is just a repeat of the past was this group of people were blamed for a disaster. The social hierarchy changed drastically as those who used to be peasants could move into the houses of the deceased rich, this lead to a lack of serfs to take care of the rich and their homes, in many cases these people are working on their own farms and homes for the first times in their lives. This imbalance completely restructures the social pyramid in place in Europe, leaving a very small amount of people in poverty.
The plague did not end in the 16th century, it still lives today though it is much more controlled and contained it still somewhat relevant. In today’s times, we have much better healthcare and generally speaking we have higher sanitary standards, but there is still places on earth which do not have as good hygiene and sanitary standards. In the U.S. today the plague is still active in the western areas of the US, it is transmitted through fleas, ticks and small rodents, which in some cases are eaten by cats who then can pass the disease on to humans. Transmission to humans is not a simple answer there are three forms of plague in which they all vary the forms that it can be transmitted. First is bubonic in this form the plague is contracted through an infected rodent or flea biting you. The second form is septicemic plague in this form the plague enters the bloodstream directly. Finally, the pneumonic plague this is contracted through coughing it also happens to be the most lethal form of the disease. Transmission of plague in the US is much more complicated nowadays since we know so much more about it for example contact with contaminated fluid or tissue. Now gloves when handling rodents or dead animals is recommended when in areas of the us which are susceptible to plague. The most recent actual outbreak of plague in the modern world happened in 1990 in Madagascar and was officially labeled an epidemic in 2009. What led to this was the extreme poverty of the nation and the crippling government which suffered major cuts in basic public services. This included the mass closing of hundreds of basic health clinics. All these combined with poor water infrastructure and poor hygiene led to a perfect opportunity for the plague to strike. This led to the common sightings of rats which some cases contained the plague which allowed for easy transmission to the people of Madagascar which led to this recent outbreak.