What was the source of the bubonic plague and why did it spread so rapidly in Europe?

Answer 1

The bubonic plague or bubonic fever or infectious diseases. Before I tell you what happened, you need to know how it spreads. The bubonic plague is mainly a disease in rodents and fleas. Infection in a human occurs when a person is bitten by a flea that has been infected by biting a rodent that has been infected by the bite of another infected flea.
In Euope, it was called Black death. It was claimed that the disease was spread mainly by black rats in Asia and that therefore there must have been black rats in north-west Europe at the time of the Black Death to spread it, although black rats are currently rare except near the Mediterranean. This led to the development of a theory that brown rats had invaded Europe, largely wiping out black rats, bringing the plagues to an end, although there is no evidence for the theory in historical records.
Many modern researchers have argued that the disease was more likely to have been viral (that is, not bubonic plague), pointing to the absence of rats from some parts of Europe that were badly affected and to the conviction of people at the time that the disease was spread by direct human contact. According to the accounts of the time the black death was extremely virulent, unlike the 19th and early 20th century bubonic plague.

Answer 2

Bubonic plague has been around a long time. First record was in 430 BC. One in Rome in AD 262 was killing 5,000 people a day.From 1334-1351 it swept over the known European world and Asia.

An attack doesn't last long but has a high death rate. A fourth or more of the European population were killed. It spread so rapidly because people didn't know what it was or how to combat it. When their "cures" didn't work they would move to another city, not knowing they were carrying the plague with them.

The plague is transmitted by fleas that are found on rodents, especially rats which are very common. Sanitary conditions and control of rodents were appalling at that time. Straw all over the floor. An excellent place for fleas to hide after leaving their hosts and than biting the people that slept on the straw.

From 1603-1665 more than 150,000 people were killed in London by the plague. In the 1800s, over a period of 20 years 10,000,000 were killed in India.

The plague still occurs in the US from time to time, but better sanitation and meds eliminate large death tolls and epidemics.

Answer 3

With the expanding globalization of the medieval European world, the strain of infection known as yersinia pestis, now called the Bubonic or Black Plague, was carried from the Middle Eastern and Balkan regions to mainland Europe, in what was actually the *second* great pandemic of the Common Era; the first having occurred in the sixth century.

As trading ships from Europe returned home from the Middle East and Balkan areas, they carried the y. pestis strain to each city in which they made port. The disease, being already very contageous to humans, was only spread further by the following situation. As European society along the coasts of the Mediterranean began to realize the devastating effects of the disease, they forced trading ships away. The trading ships, then, spread the disease to every port at which they stopped.

The inland spread of the plague was caused by inadequate hygiene practices, and mass crowding of Medieval European cities. Only in the country side were people less susceptible to the disease, although not completely (Giovanni Boccaccio's "The Decameron" was set in the scenario of a group of people meeting in the country side to avoid the plague, and telling stories of their encounters with the Plague).

As an aside, the strain of y. pestis still exists today. As recent as this year there have been developments of the bubonic plague in everyday people.

Answer 4

Well, the plague was spread by a flea that infected rats. The rats stowed away on sailing ships and were transported to different ports around the then known world. They would climb down the tie ropes at a port and their fleas would jump from them to other animals and multiply, eventually biting humans who died of this horrible disease. People then did not understand these things, and saw plagues as a punishment by god. But they burned cats alive, thinking them to tbe animals of the devil and thereby destroyed the one effective means that was available for getting rid of the rats in the first place. Isn't it wonderful the strides that medical science has made and the cures that are being researched for many more ailments that afflict mankind? Best wishes from Barrie.

Answer 5

The bubonic plague was spread by fleas and rats traders bought over from Asia.
It was able to spread rapidly through the unsanitary conditions of medievil Europe.

Answer 6

A little know fact about that plague was the actual cause for the rise of the rodent population that carried the infected fleas. The disease always existed but was somewhat contained naturally within the checks and balances of the food chain. Then, the Christian church got the notion to condemn house-cats as being in-league with the "Devil" and cats were slaughtered everywhere. Hence, rodent populations lost a major predator and their populations soared unchecked and the plague spread like wildfire.

Answer 7

During that time people did wash, as many texts and paintings prove it, it was during the Renaissance that they stopped doing it after the Church forced the closure of the public bathes because of the 'lewd things' happening there. Not many people could afford the time and money it was to bring enough water home and buy the wood needed to heat it.

Medieval people were clean, and wore clean clothes, but their cities were terrible. They had no notion of hygiene except personal and no idea of sanitation. Small narrow streets and houses, open sewers, densely packed cities, cemeteries in the middle of houses, swamps, and stagnant water in the moats around castles and cities. They also were constantly in contact with animals... and their fleas. Then when the plague hit people ran, bringing the disease with them. If you look at a time map you see clearly the disease spreading in a semi circle from the southern harbours to the rest of Europe as people tried to outrun the plague.

Answer 8

The flea infestation and the hygiene of the people of that time is what caused the unbridled rampage of the plague across europe, even crossing the english channel in 1348. The knowledge level at the time blamed the plague on all manner of things, from unknown travelers to god, to witches and even pagan sacrifice. Nothing really had effect and killed a major portion of the people at that time.

Answer 9

The plague was also referred to as "the Black Death” because the skin of diseased people turned a dark gray color. It began in China’s Gobi Desert, and it killed about 35 million Asian people. When sailors traveled to Asia, rats returned with them to Europe. Fleas living on the blood of infected rats then transferred the disease to the European people.

Answer 10

Marmots (like Prairie Dogs) are carriers of bubonic plague, this was past on to brown rats who put it into the water system through their urine and infecting us.

Because of this Marmots have the distinction of killing more humans than any other animal.