4. There Isn’t Just One Type of Plague; There’s Three
The plague didn’t enter the body in just one way. There were three different types of plague: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. The bubonic plague is what we commonly hear when speaking about the Black Death. The bubonic plague was caused by the bites of fleas carrying Y. Pestis. The bacteria then moved to the lymph nodes and quickly multiples created buboes (black growths) on the body. The pneumonic plague was airborne, so there was some bad air about. The disease entered through the lungs causing an infection. The infection causes the victim to cough blood and spread the bacteria from person to person.
Septicemic is the rarest form of the disease. Septicemic plague causes disseminated intravascular coagulation and is almost always fatal. The black spots seen on a body was blood coagulating under the skin. Most plague symptoms included diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, weakness, bleeding, shock, and skin turning black. The affected lymph nodes are usually around the groin, neck, and armpits which are tender and warm. Luckily today, we have a cure, and it’s rare to contract the plague.