The Black death that plagued humanity altered the course of history and forever changed how we studied medicine and provided sanitation. There were a variety of aspects that allowed for the pathogen yersinia pestis to spread so quickly and effectively throughout Asia, the Middle East and eventually Europe. Poor sanitation, high density populations, interconnected civilizations, and most of all a lack of understanding of disease.
The social habits of the time period created a perfect elements to allow the plague to spread do rapidly. One deadly habit was the handling of a dead body. The culture had certain burrell practices which involved washing the bodies and a gathering of people close to the deceased. If the host died of yersinia pestis then many of the individuals around the body will get infected. Since so many people were dying from an unseen enemy and there was no way to for people to understand, this caused many of the era to become hysterical of the situation. Cultic groups were formed when many lost faith in their religion. Others targeted groups of weak individuals to put the blame on. The Jewish community took a large part of the blame by many Christians and they were persecuted for crimes they did not commit. Most Christians believed God was punishing them for their wickedness and sins on Earth. Everyone had one thing in common; they could not save themselves from the path of death. Many of the wealthier classes fled the countryside but the commoners were left in the city to die. The aftermath of the disease left the social and economic system in ruin. The commoners that survived had the opportunity to move in in status and claim land due to the availability and the nobles now had to do their own farming work because there were not many serfs left. The Plague shuffled the deck for the many who had been stuck in their defined way of life. The world will never be the same.
Yersinia pestis still thrives today and is biologically identical to the original outbreaks during the Justinian Plague. The pathogen transmits in three ways: Boobonic which is where the disease attacks the lymph nodes, systemic is the disease in the blood stream, and mnemonic which is the transmission of the disease through droplets in the respiratory system. Much like during the age of the black death, a epidemic as come up from China. Infected fleas with plague arrived on the West Coast of the United States and started a outbreak in Los Angeles. Although the outbreak was contained, the disease has made itself into the animal population throughout the West Coast where it still produces cases of Plague. The biggest cause of current cases in the U.S. is due to common house pets becoming infected by a rodet and then transmitting it to the owner. The best treatment against the plague is recognition to begin treatment. The CDC promotes programs to help make all humans aware that limiting contact with others and practicing cleanly habits are the best defense to avoid illness especially pathogens such as yersinia pestis. A recurring area of Plague is in Madagascar where in runs rampant. Other third world countries struggle from recurring outbreaks. This is due to the poor sanitation of the countries where rodents and animals are in close contact with humans. This makes it easy to transmit the disease to each host. The disease has enzootic cycles were a host rodent shows no symptoms of illness but can transmit the plague. This is particularly dangerous for all potential victims.No matter your occupation, the status you hold, or what you believe, the plague will remain and will find a way to survive.