The Worst Disease

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Recommended: Essays on the Black Death

The Black Death is a very terrible disease that killed a large amount of people. The year that this pandemic started was 1348 and went on to last for another 12 years (history staff). This is thought to be the worst disease ever, it took more lives than any other pandemic or war before its time (Encyclopedia). The symptoms of this sickness will prove those thoughts to be correct.
The first thing for most would be a headache, then chills and fever, and some more common ones were nausea, vomiting, back pain, and soreness. After that you moved on to having swellings and then they’d turn black and ooze. The last thing is bleeding internally and that’s the main cause of death from this disease (Snell). The creature that is responsible for all of this pain and suffering is actually so small that you would need a microscope to see it.
The name of the creature responsible is Yersinia Pestinis (Clones). The pathogen travels from person to person pneumonically (Black Death). This sickness can even effect animals such as cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. A large amount of sheep died, so many died that there was a European wool shortage (History).
The disease spread very quickly, and that is because the people in the towns and cities lived close together and didn’t know anything about contagious diseases. If they did then they would’ve avoided close contact and not cough or sneeze on people. That would prevent it better (Trueman).
By Spring of 1349 the Black Death had killed six out of every ten people that lived in London (Chris). After the disease reached Crimea it was likely that it was carried by oriental rat fleas living on black rats that were regular passengers on ships. The black death is estimated to have taken 30-60% of Europe...

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...edia Britannica. “ Black Death.” www.britannic.com Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 April 2014. Web. 5 May 2014.
Snell, Melssa. “Death Defined.” www.about.com. About.com staff, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.
“ Clones of Yersinia Pestis.” www.plospathogens.org. Plos, n.d. Web. 30 April 2014.
Trueman, Chris. “The Black Death of 1348 to 1350.” www.historylearningsite.co.uk.n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.
Ibeji, Mike. “Black Death.” www.bbc.co.uk. BBC, 10 March 2011. Web. 5 May 2014.
Alchin, Linda, “Black Death.” www.lordsandladies.org. n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.
Alchon, Suzanne. A pest in the Land. New Mexico: UNM Press, 2003. Print.
The Kopelman Foundation. “Black Death.” www.jewishencyclopedia.com. N.d. Web. 5 May
2014.
Dunham, Will. “Black Death Discriminated Between Victims.” www.abc.net.au. ABC, n.d. Web.
30 April 2014.
Gasquet, Francis. The Black Death. London: Chiswick Press, 1968. Print.

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