Historical Aspects:
The plague or the worst pandemic ever to hit this world is the most dangerous infectious diseases ever. The plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis and it causes three different types of plague. First the pneumonic, which spreads through respiration, second the bubonic which spreads through bodily fluids and finally the septicemic which spreads through a vector. During the epidemic that then turned into a pandemic society played a huge role in the spread of the disease. First the plague began in Asia and was spread through the largest trade route in ancient history, the silk road. Then society played another role in the poor hygiene of the time period as well as the ignorance of science and medicine. All three of these factors played crucial roles in the spread of Yersinia pestis throughout Europe and Asia. Another factor that contributed to the plague was the improper disposal of waste and lack of clean water. Many in cities would dispose of their waste in the streets which allows for rats and other varmints to contract the disease and spread it through fleas and bites.[1] The disease it’s self also had ways of spreading throughout the body and escaping the immune system. These virulence factors include promoting initial dissemination of the bacteria, suppression of the host immune system, and resistance of phagocytosis. [2]The plague was able to cause deadly symptoms within hours and kill within days. This brutality of the disease caused those effected to respond with fear and looked for people/things to blame. First to blame were the physicians who blamed the plague on polluted fog in the air. Then came the fires which were thought to ward off the fog. Then when the physicians recommendation didn’t work the people put all of their hope into the church, which had three different reactions. First was constant prayer and that God would eventually save them. Then came the persecution of the Jews because they were apparently the nasty race that caused all punishment from god. Then came the flagellants, which took to lashing themselves and others in hopes that self-sacrifice would lead to the downfall of the great deaths. None of which worked, but at-least the public had hope while going through this great struggle. Although the flagellants were a sort hope they also caused turmoil within the church and other religious populations because they would rape and pillage towns. The flagellants also helped spread the disease because the they would gather followers that were infected and by going village to village causing more people to be infected[3].The plague in past times was a killer disease that put people against each other and to lose all hope in society.
Plague Today:
Modern plague transmission is identical to ancient plague transmission in that there are the three types that I mentioned earlier and that each type transmits differently, but some share transmission types. In the U.S. each year there are less than 10 cases with spikes up to 17 cases. The cases in the U.S. occur from urban and rural rats that spread the disease to humans, mainly concentrating in the Midwest. Also found by the CDC, men have a higher concentration of getting infected because they do more outdoor activities[4]. The plague in the U.S. is controlled by quarantine and other modern medical procedures that keep as many people as possible away from the disease. The shocking case of Madagascar led scientist to look into the outbreak. What they found was that Madagascar was a third world country with poor
[5]
sanitation, water treatment and medical treatment. They also found that it was almost a perfect condition for fleas to grow on rats. The next thing they found was that it was not only one form of Y. pestis, but it was three different strands and that one of the strands was resistant to antibiotics. This resistance is terrifying because it shows that Y. pestis can evolve and change and eventually we may not be able to find a vaccine/cure.[6]
[1]https://www.historycrunch.com/causes-of-the-black-death.html#/
[2]http://reviverestore.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Gage_Plague-spread_AdvExpMedBiol_2012-copy.pdf
[3]https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/black-death2.htm
[4]https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps/index.html
[5]https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/plague-highlights-public-health-failings-madagascar
[6]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_century_Madagascar_plague_outbreaks