Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
THE BUBONIC PLAGUEMiss Hansen
10th Grade World History
WAIT… WHAT?
The Bubonic Plague
The Black Death
The Plague
THE BUBONIC PLAGUE
➤ Later named the Black Death
➤ Marks the outbreak from 1346 to 1352
➤ Not the first or last outbreak of this disease
➤ Still cases of the Plague around the world today
➤ Black Death: particularly catastrophic
THE BUBONIC PLAGUE
➤ The name “bubonic” comes from one of the early signs of the disease
➤ large, painful swellings called buboes
➤ stem from the lymph nodes of the victim
➤ Armpit, neck or groin area
➤ Other symptoms of the disease include:
➤ Overwhelmingly high fever (105 degrees)
➤ Victims became delirious
➤ Broke out in black splotches (hemorrhaging under skin)
THE DISEASE
➤ Yersina pestis is the bacterium that causes the Black Death
➤ Plague bacilli are found in many wild rodent populations across the world
➤ It’s transmitted from one rodent to another by fleas
➤ An infected flea’s bite will transmit the bacilli into the healthy rat’s bloodstream
➤ As rats die off, fleas must look for another warm-blooded host to feed on (like humans)
ORIGIN OF THE PLAGUE
SPREAD OF PLAGUE➤ Marmots, large rodents
native to central Asia
➤ Fur used for trade throughout this part of the world
➤ Once furs sent West…
➤ Hungry fleas jumped from fur to the next living thing they could find
➤ Infected fleas eventually latched onto rats
WATER ROUTES
➤ The plague reached Kaffa in about 1347
➤ Major port on the Black Sea
➤ Medieval Ships: prime dwelling for rats
➤ Crews slept, rats ran around, dropping fleas onto the decks below
➤ The plague was now being spread via land and water routes
MAPPING THE BLACK
DEATHPlease get with a
partner
MEDIEVAL EXPLANATIONS
➤ No one knew the details regarding the nature, cause or how the plague spread
➤ Their explanations: ➤ unfavorable astrological combinations or “misamas” ➤ witches ➤ Muslims blamed Christians and vice versa
➤ Both groups blamed the Jews ➤ God’s wrath on humankind (or on sinners)
FEATURES OF 14TH CENTURY LIFE
➤ Thatched roofs
➤ Household trash
➤ Straw on floors and in bedding
➤ nesting & food for rats/fleas
➤ Unwashed human bodies and woolen clothes (flea’s dream)
➤ Interconnectedness of the world
➤ long-distance trade
➤ religious pilgrimages
➤ Medieval towns/villages and homes = crowded
CONSEQUENCES
➤ Killed both rich & poor people; poor people more likely to die however
➤ The rich had nicer homes, whereas the poor had homes made out of poor materials and no help to keep them sanitary
➤ Mortality rates were also higher among physicians and priests
➤ attended to the sick and dying Doctors at the bedside of a
plague victim
CONSEQUENCES
SHORT-TERM
➤ Large number of deaths = labor shortage
➤ mini-boom in the slave trade
➤ wages and standard of living rose for survivors working
CONSEQUENCES
LONG-TERM
➤ Experience of plague = public health boards, use of quarantine, and university-level training for medial professionals
➤ Changes in settlement patterns (eastward migration of Jews)
➤ Shtetl culture emerges
➤ Increased tension between upper and lower classes
➤ Loss in confidence in the Church and political authorities
➤ Increase in individualism and personal religious beliefs
➤ Backdrop for Renaissance and Reformation?
➤ Emphasis on “good works”
THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH — PIETER BRUEGHEL
DANCE OF DEATH
BIOLOGY OF THE PLAGUEThe Human Body’s Response
to the Black Death
ECOLOGY & TRANSMISSION
➤ Bacteria called Yersinia pestis
➤ Maintain their existence via a cycle, involves rats & fleas
➤ The defining requirement for an epidemic (humans) is a rodent outbreak
➤ Transmitted by:
➤ Flea bites (bubonic plague)
➤ Contact with contaminated fluid or tissue (septicemic plague)
➤ Infectious droplets (pneumonic plague)
WHAT HAPPENS?
➤ After the flea bites the host, the bacteria suppresses the body’s natural inflammatory response
➤ The bacterium also uses proteins to protect themselves from the immune system
➤ They then take a ride on white blood cells and enter into the nearest lymph node
➤ The second they reach the lymph node, they multiply
SYMPTOMS
➤ Sudden onset of:
➤ Fever,
➤ Geadache
➤ Chills
➤ Weakness
➤ One or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes (buboes)
➤ The bacteria multiply in the lymph nodes closest to wherever the bacteria entered the body
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT
➤ Have you traveled to the western United States?
➤ Have you experienced the rapid development of a swollen and painful lymph gland (bubo)?
➤ Have you had a known flea bite?
➤ Antibiotics are used for treatment of this illness
PREVENTION — TIPS FROM THE CDC
➤ Reduce the rodent habitat around your home, work place, and recreational areas
➤ Wear gloves if you are handling or skinning potentially infected animals to prevent contact between your skin and the bacteria
➤ Use repellent if you think you could be exposed to rodent fleas while camping, hiking, or working outdoors
➤ Keep fleas off of your pets by applying flea control products
➤ Do not allow dogs or cats to roam free in endemic areas to sleep on your bed
