Short history of black death. Hi, everyone. This time we will discuss a very terrible history in the Middle Ages about the plague called Black Death. This epidemic destroyed the European continent at that time where almost two-thirds of the European population died because of this plague. The total death toll reached 75 million to 200 million. Very bad! What disease is this plague? Let's discuss it!

Black Death Plague first occurred in Europe in the years 1347-1351. Want to know how severe the disease is?

In just 4 years, one-third to two-thirds of Europeans died from this epidemic. As long as they thought that the end would come soon and chaos would occur everywhere. The cause of this outbreak was a bacterium which became known as Yersinia Pestis.

There are several theories about the origin of this plague. One of the oldest theories is that black death originated in the steppe plains in Central Asia. From this area, spread to Europe via the Silk Road brought by the Mongol army and traders. At almost the same time, there were also epidemics in much of Asia and the Middle East, which showed that events in Europe were actually part of a multi-regional pandemic. If that includes the Middle East, India and China, the Black Death has claimed at least 200 million lives. How can it spread?

For thousands of years, there have been no epidemic diseases. However, when people start living in cities, infections can spread more easily. When traders and soldiers travel from city to city, they carry bacteria and viruses with them and spread infection to new populations. Children are in greatest danger because until the nineteenth century, 50% of children died before the age of five. In addition, the drainage and drainage systems of ancient Europeans were very bad. Causes water used every day to be contaminated.

Outbreaks of this disease occur through three variants of transmission. The most common is the Pes Variant originating from the swollen lymph glands that appear on the victim's neck, armpit or groin. This disease grows in various sizes, ranging from egg size to apple size. Although some people have survived suffering, epidemics usually only provide survivors with one week of life expectancy. The spread of PES outbreaks comes from insects (generally fleas) that are infected through direct contact with mice including mice and guinea pigs infected with the plague. After mice die, fleas bite humans and pass them on to humans.

The second variant is pneumonic plague that attacks the respiratory system and is spread only by breathing air that is exhaled through the victim. Outbreaks of this disease are far more deadly than PES outbreaks, life expectancy can only be measured in one or two days.

The third variant is the transmission of the Septicemia epidemic, this outbreak attacks the blood system. Unlike the other two outbreaks, this variant can spread through the bite of infected insects or mice, or through contact with other infected humans. Very scary!

Is it Black Death Over?

Black Death is actually a modern name given to describe the current situation. People affected by this plague will turn black before dying. But in 1666 a great fire in London helped to end this epidemic by burning rats and fleas that spread the disease, even though there were also many fatalities from the fire.

If you say it's over, the disease isn't completely over. Until now there are still reports stating that globally there are 650 cases in a year in which 130 of them died as a result of this outbreak. With advances in medical science at this time, the chance of surviving this disease is 90% if handled properly when detected early.

So, we must be more careful! Okay, that's a brief explanation of black death. Very scary!