The Spread of Black Death

 

�They died in heaps and were buried in heaps.�

Daniel Defoe in England in 1665

 

��������� It is extremely rare for a pandemic to occur.� The conditions necessary for this type of global event to strike are severe.� Some of the pre-existing conditions necessary for this occurrence include war, famine, weather and interactions between people.� The civil war in China during the 13th and 14th centuries led to episodes of widespread famine.� Also, at the end of the 13th century and into the first half of the 14th century, disastrous weather had severe implications worldwide.� This so-called �Little Ice Age�, shifted the reservoir downward into the direct path of the Asian trade routes (TED 2).� These trade routes came in contact the Yersinia pestis as luxury items such as silk and spices were brought from Asia to Europe.� Also, The Great Famine struck all of Northern Europe in the 14th century, resulting in hunger and malnutrition.� The result was a mounting vulnerability to disease due to weakened immune systems.� A typhoid epidemic in 1318 became the predictor of the upcoming disaster.� In addition to these situations, it is necessary that the host population for the vector be stressed.� This usually is the result of a disease state or famine in the host which results in fewer sources of blood for the vector, so they seek other hosts.� Therefore, the infection transfers from the rat host to human hosts.

 

Figure 1(The spread of the bubonic plague from east Asia to Europe in the mid to late 14th century, www.uflib.ufl.edu/.../BlackDeath.htm)

 

��������� Current evidence suggests that the Black Death spread from China in 1334 to Europe, primarily along trade routes (TED 2).� This occurred both over land with merchant caravans, as well as at sea along sea trade routes.� Evidence supports the transmission along sea routes by the observation that large active port cities had the highest infection and mortality rates.� By 1347, the outbreak had spread into Europe.� From Italy, the disease spread northwest across Europe inflicting the inhabitants of France, Spain, Portugal, and England by 1348.� Following this pandemic, there were isolated incidences of epidemics that occurred over the next two centuries.� It is estimated that the original Black Death pandemic claimed 25 million lives in Europe alone.

 

 

The Plague���� Yersinia pestis���� The Spread���� Cultural Effects���� Controversies���� Modern Plague���� References

 

HOME