The Horrific Past

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Kelsy Orender        

Amy Pace

Composition II

27 November 2017

The Horrific Past

“Ring around the rosy, pockets full of poses, ashes, ashes, we all fall down.” Ever wondered about the disease that wiped out nearly all of Europe, Asia and Africa? These countries merely became extinct after a horrific disease impacted them. Like the diseases we face these days, such as cancer, the plague killed both humans and animals. In similarity, this sickness spread and took control of not only its people physically but the country as a whole. History has a tendency of repeating the bad more than the good. Therefore, educating ourselves about events such as these can lead to not only awareness but also prevention.

What was the plague? The plague was known as one of the deadliest diseases in history. The black death, also known as the black plague, is a sickness that is caused by a bacterium known as Yersinia Pestis. This bacterium is a gram-negative bacterium that can grow with or without oxygen (Schoenstadt). Yersinia Pestis is in relation to the E Coli disease. In many cases, causing the same effects aside from carrying the same bacteria. This is a type of bacteria that circulates among wild rodents like, rats, possums, and skunks. It is also common among those wild rodents that live in huge numbers and densities. The plague is a vector- bourne illness, that must have a living host to spread the disease. The main host of this disease is a flea known as the

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Oriental Rat Flea. It was the best host because its digestive system blocked a large mass of plague bacteria. When a blocked flea bites a victim, it transmits its infected blood into the wound. As soon as the bacteria makes contact, the body begins to show symptoms two to six days after infection. Symptoms include, a fever, chills, headache, and swollen lymph nodes (Bubonic). After these symptoms begin, the bloodstream begins to clot, causing the skin to appear bruised from uncontrolled bleeding. Most bruises took over the body so severely that this disease soon gained the nickname, “Black Death”. Aside from the symptoms previously mentioned, many experienced respiratory failure within two to four days of being infected, causing immediate death (Bubonic). The plague took only a short amount of time to spread like wild fire.

How did the plague spread? The black death originated from China. The first ship that came from China was the ship that started it all. When that ship made landfall in Russia, what the people saw would scar them for the rest of their lives. As the ship became in sight they saw people on that ship dead, they say blood everywhere, and people crying out in pain only they already dying so there was no way to possible help them.  It began with fleas that carried the bacteria and transferred it to the common rat of this time. Rats were commonly known to be on ships that traveled to Italy, France, and Greece. Soon, it started spreading almost in a pattern. If the rats on the ships were infected, those ships were usually on their voyage to conduct trading. Due to the ships traveling from country country, it was an easy route to spread. The countries it effected were, China, India, Persia, Middle East, Caucasus, North Africa. It then traveled to Europe, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, and even Russia (Richard). Although

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many of these countries were aware of the disease spreading, trade continued. Trade mainly contained of silks and spices. The rats on ships were known to break into the shipping boxes of

these products and contaminate these goods. Goods were then repackaged and continued to be sold. The spread of the Plague, at this point, basically became inevitable. Negligence seemed like the better way to put it.

How did it affect people? Back in the 1300’s the diagnosis was simple, the doctor would perform a physical exam, then they would ask questions about family medical history, and any exposure to animals. They would also look at blood samples under a scope to look for a positive match of the plague virus. (how it was dia.) Along with some of the major symptoms previously mentioned, one could also experience rapid heart rate, nausea, vomit, delirium, blackening and death of tissue (DNews). Once the victim was diagnosed there was only one way to treat it. The cure was an antibiotic called Gentamicin. What is gentamicin? Gentamicin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat severe systemic infections. However, lower class could not afford such antibiotics. Aside from that issue, many were poorly informed or were not informed at all about the help that they could receive. Not only were people poorly informed, this antibiotic had a very limited supply. Sounds about right considering that it was in such high demand. The lower class were the first to experience the most deaths. The plague not only affected the human population, but also the economy. Farms and work factories soon lost workers, and most of all their supply. Basic goods not only became feared but also lost demand due to the continuous decrease in population. People soon began trying to eat more “trusting foods”. To them, this meant eating food of higher quality. People also believed that by having a stress-free life and by having happy thoughts they could have a less likely chance of catching the disease. It all soon became a chain

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reaction, fear changed habits, and habits caused higher prices (Gentamicin Uses). All of these effects lead to an increasing number in deaths.

How many deaths were due to the plague? The amount of those deceased reached an astounding number.  In Europe alone, twenty-five million people died. Which, at this time, was one third of the current population. Worldwide, we lost seventy-five million people, causing it to take a hundred and fifty years for this amount of population to fully be recovered. The mortality rate for the black plague victims was between thirty to seventy five percent. Imagine losing you mom, your dad, grandparents, or even aunt and uncles. The scary part is, is that a lot of the family members didn’t get to say goodbye or have a burial for that loved one, they had to leave that family member behind so then they wouldn’t catch the deadly disease. It became as simple as, if you caught the plague, there was a guarantee you would be among most of those that did not live through it. Among humans were animal deaths of one hundred to two hundred thousand deaths. (answers.com) It took only a course of three years to wipe out half of the world’s population. Sanitation was a prime issue during the plague but seemed to be an increasing factor even after half the world’s population was nonexistent.