The Bubonic Plague

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The Bubonic Plague

• The Black Death

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• The Introduction

The bubonic plague is one of the most famous
epidemics in the world. Most people think of it
as a European disease, but the plagues origins
are in China. In the early 1330s China
experienced a deadly outbreak of the plague. The
disease was spread by fleas that had bitten
infected rodents. Fleas were very common back
then, so it was easy for the plague to spread
around. In those days, China was one of the
busiest trading nations in the world, so when
people from around the world came to China, they
got an extra souvenir the Black Plague.
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• Soon after the plague showed up in China, it
  began to move west, into eastern Asia and,
  eventually, Europe. This is where the plague
  gained its fame. It all began when an Italian
  fleet returned from China in October 1347. Many
  aboard these ships were already dying from the
  disease. Within a few days the plague was into
  Sicily and the surrounding land. The Italians
  were drove away, but the plague remained.
• By August 1348, the bubonic plague was in
  England, where it earned the name Black Death.
  This name was given to it because of the black
  spots it caused on the victims skin. The
  medicines of the day could not stop it. In five
  years, it killed one-third (25 million) of
  Europes population.

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• Symptoms of the Bubonic Plague

• These are the symptoms of the bubonic plague
• Shivering
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Giddiness
• Intolerance to light
• Pain in the back or limbs
• White coating on tongue

Continued...
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After the virus has really set in, pain in the
groin, armpit, and neck occurs. This is because
where lymph nodes are found. There is also a
painful swelling of the lymph nodes, known as
boboes, which turn into hard lumps on the inner
thigh, neck, and armpit. Then dried blood under
the skin turns black. However, if someone is
able to recover from this virus, they dont have
to worry about it anymore they become immune.
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Description of Bubonic Plague

• The plague is a bacteria pathogen spread by the
  Oriental Rat flea (most commonly). It can be
  transmitted in two different ways
• By being bitten by an infected flea
• From exposure to infected area
• The plague is usually enzootic, which means that
  it occurs in a small amount of animals. But it
  can reach an epizootic scale, infecting many
  animals in the same region, when the rodents
  food supply lowers and they die, causing the
  fleas to seek other sources of blood.

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The Bubonic Plague Cycle
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How can it be prevented?

• The bubonic plague has a vaccine that lasts for
  about 6 months, but it is not available in the
  U.S. Some other ways to prevent it are
• using rodenticide to control rodent population
• using insecticides to control flea population
• fumigating ships with hydrocyanic gas to kill
  rodents
• making living conditions more sanitary for humans
• isolating bubonic plague victims

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Summary
The bubonic plague was a horrible disease that
killed millions of people around the world.
Thanks to elevated health conditions and modern
medicine, we no longer have to worry about
getting the Black Death.