On Tuesday, July 12, 2024, local officials announced the presence of plague in Pueblo County, Colorado. A statement from the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment disclosed that the disease, which is notorious for causing the Black Death pandemic, was identified from preliminary tests on a suspected victim.
But how deadly is this disease, and how can it be stopped?
What is the Plague?
The plague is a disease from the Yersinia pestis bacterium. The most common way the disease spreads is through flea bites. However, the fleas aren’t the source of the plague; they are received from biting infected animals before being transmitted to humans.
The source of the infection is still a mystery, and scientists are working tirelessly to find an answer.
The Black Death
Closely tied to the plague is a pandemic known as the Black Death. The Black Death is a consequence of the plague outbreak, which could kill millions at a time.
In medieval times, the Black Death surfaced undetected amongst the European population and left a devastating result. More than 20 million people lost their lives. This number represented more than one-third of the European population at the time.
How Did the Black Death Spread?
The black death, after being introduced by fleas into the human population, spread in a pretty terrifying way. According to the famous Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio, the littlest human-to-human contact can transmit the disease.
Boccaccio wrote, “The mere touching of the clothes [could] communicate the malady to the voucher.” Many accounts of the plague had it that due to the plague, perfectly healthy people could go to bed and never wake up.
The Black Death Also Eliminated Lots of Livestock
Humans weren’t the only animals who died in large numbers. Livestock such as sheep, pigs, cows, goats, and chickens also lost their lives as a result. Farmers and livestock owners battled to save their lives and preserve their sources of food and income.
In fact, historical accounts recorded that there was a shortage of wool across Europe owing to the death of many sheep.
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Touching Infected Animals
Apart from spreading through contact with infected persons, the Black Death also moved through animals. One could catch the disease through simple contact with an infected animal.
For example, an individual who inhales cough droplets from an infected animal will surely get the disease. The same applies to humans, which is why this recent discovery is terrifying for health officials.
How Did the Black Death Pandemic End in the 14th Century?
As the disease continued to ravage humanity, people were able to overcome their panic and look for solutions. They drastically slowed the spread of the disease by isolating any arriving sailors in the coastal towns and villages.
They held the sailors for 30 days and, later, 40 days before they allowed them into society. People also began to adopt social distancing.
The Black Death Across Generations
Although humanity succeeded in defeating the plague in the early 1350s when it first came, the Black Death surfaced repeatedly across subsequent generations. However, it met better resistance through greatly improved sanitation and public health practices.
Fast-forward to the present day, we’ve been able to limit the global Black Death cases to 3,000 per year at the most.
What Are the Black Death Symptoms?
The CDC has described a number of symptoms that follow a plague infection. These include fever, severe headache, sudden chills, and muscle aches. Others are nausea, vomiting, and mostly painful swollen lymph nodes.
The CDC has also warned that people who notice any of the black death symptoms should call for medical attention immediately. Early detection and medical intervention are always the best ways to treat diseases.
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Can the Black Death Be Treated?
In contrast to the 14th century, humanity is far more enlightened to handle a black death attack. But the question on many minds will be, “Can the black death be treated?” Thankfully, the answer is “Yes.”
Health professionals have developed effective antibiotics that can destroy the infection in the body. However, the treatment is most effective when infected persons report for treatment on time.
Are the Black Death and Bubonic Plague the Same?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are two major clinical categories of plague infection. These are the bubonic plague, which causes pain and swelling in the lymph nodes, and the pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs. However, there is also the widely recognized septicemic plague.
Scientists haven’t agreed on whether the 14th-century plague was bubonic or pneumonic.
How Can You Protect Yourself From the Black Death?
The Pueblo Department of Public Health urged everyone to “protect themselves and their pets from plague.” According to their statement, individuals can do this by clearing their environments of brush, waste, piles of wood, and rock heaps.
For pets, people should treat their canines and felines for fleas. In addition, pet owners should store their food out of the reach of rats, mice, and squirrels.
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