The Black Death or Black Plague was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s population.
How Did the Black Plague Start?
Even before the “death ships” pulled into port at Messina, many Europeans had heard rumors about a “Great Pestilence” that was carving a deadly path across the trade routes of the Near and Far East. Indeed, in the early 1340s, the disease had struck China, India, Persia, Syria and Egypt.
WATCH: How the Black Death Spread So Widely
The plague is thought to have originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago and was likely spread by trading ships, though recent research has indicated the pathogen responsible for the Black Death may have existed in Europe as early as 3000 B.C.
The Black Death was the epidemic of bubonic plague (bacillus Yersinia Pestis) which killed around half of the population of Europe in 1348–50. The term was also used for later, somewhat less apocalyptic outbreaks. The name related to the black swellings (buboes) which erupted on a victim's body, normally meaning he had only a few hours left to live.
This bacillus is still with us. However, it was spread by rats and fleas. Improved hygiene means humans are no longer flea infested, and by and large we do not share our houses with wild rats. Nevertheless, some believe we may be only one mutation away from another catastrophic epidemic, spread from person to person as pneumonic plague (same bacterium, but a different strain infecting the lungs). It is curable with antibiotics, but might kill so fast that people could not get help in time.
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Answer:
The Black Death or Black Plague was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s population.
How Did the Black Plague Start?
Even before the “death ships” pulled into port at Messina, many Europeans had heard rumors about a “Great Pestilence” that was carving a deadly path across the trade routes of the Near and Far East. Indeed, in the early 1340s, the disease had struck China, India, Persia, Syria and Egypt.
WATCH: How the Black Death Spread So Widely
The plague is thought to have originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago and was likely spread by trading ships, though recent research has indicated the pathogen responsible for the Black Death may have existed in Europe as early as 3000 B.C.
The Black Death was the epidemic of bubonic plague (bacillus Yersinia Pestis) which killed around half of the population of Europe in 1348–50. The term was also used for later, somewhat less apocalyptic outbreaks. The name related to the black swellings (buboes) which erupted on a victim's body, normally meaning he had only a few hours left to live.
This bacillus is still with us. However, it was spread by rats and fleas. Improved hygiene means humans are no longer flea infested, and by and large we do not share our houses with wild rats. Nevertheless, some believe we may be only one mutation away from another catastrophic epidemic, spread from person to person as pneumonic plague (same bacterium, but a different strain infecting the lungs). It is curable with antibiotics, but might kill so fast that people could not get help in time.
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