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The Black Death (1346-1353)
Estimated deaths: 75 – 200 million
There is probably no single event in history that had such a profound impact on the Western world than the infamous Black Death in Europe. When it had run its course, it had decimated up to 60% of the population of Europe. It would take Europe’s population almost three centuries to return to pre-plague levels. That’s how devastating this plague was. But our worries about the plague are unfortunately not contained to the past. Just last year in 2017, an outbreak of pneumonic plague (transmitted by cough) broke out in the island of Madagascar. To date, 171 have been confirmed to have died there according to the World Health Organization.
The plague comes from the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the same bacteria that caused the Plague of Justinian that we mentioned previously. Its origins have been traced back to the plains of Central Asia where rodents carrying the bacteria moved to more populated areas where it spread. From there, the plague bacteria were transported across trade routes – like the famous Silk Road – to various parts of the known world. But it was when it reached Europe that the plague exploded in towns and cities where sanitary conditions were poor and human beings lived in close proximity.
The name Black Death came about due to the visible symptoms that plague victims exhibited on their bodies. Lymph nodes that swelled up after infection and became black in color. The other major visible symptom was the presence of buboes, or localized swellings, in the groin and armpit areas that would ooze pus when opened. If a patient was left untreated, death usually followed within a week. The estimated mortality rate was as estimated to be as high as 80%!
Recent research being conducted at universities in Europe have begun to question the idea that it was rodents that were the main culprits in the spread of the plague. Computer modeling and medical research now seem to indicate that it may have been human-based fleas and lice that were the carriers of the plague bacteria and ultimately the source of the Black Death. If this is accurate then pest eradication may not be enough to prevent a future outbreak. Good personal hygiene and washings may be in order.