THE BUBOnIC PLAGUE OF THE MIDDLE AGES By: Josh B. and Kaylee W. Core: 1
How Did it Get its Name? Got its name from buboes which is where it gets infected
Who Discovered the Plague? A French scientist named Alexandre Yersin discovered it Alexandre Yersin pictured above
When Was it Discovered? It was discovered in 1884
What is it Known As Today? Now known as the Black Death (Bacterium Yersinia Pestis)
Where Was it First Discovered? It was first identified in Hong Kong, China
How Did The Bubonic Plague Start? Started as a minor plague in China
What Mainly Carries it? Mainly oriental rat fleas carried on the backs of Black Rats
What Was it Caused By and How Did it Spread? The Bubonic Plague was spread by rodents
What is it Caused By? Caused by Bacterium Yersinia Pestis
Are There Other Types of the Plague? There is the Bubonic, Pneumonic, and Septicemic plague Pictured above are the Pneumonic (left) and the Septicemic (right) plague
Interesting Facts of the Bubonic Plague Bacteria flourishes in rural areas
What Did the Doctors Think? many doctors thought that bad smells would get rid of the plague such as dung
Were There Other Things Doctors Thought Would Cure it? There were others that were more likely to spread infection than cure it
How Many Did it Kill? When the plague came through Europe in 1348 it killed 25-60%. Some estimates for the death rate were as high as 2/3.
When Did the First Named Victims Die? the first victims that we have names for died in 1338 and 1339.
Fast Fact #1 Then wiped out a third of the Chinese population
Fast Fact #2 Has 1,000 to 2,000 annual cases
Fast Fact #3 we use the term black death now but then it was called the pestilence or the great mortality
Fast Fact #4 the plague continued ended in 1351AD coming back to Europe even after it
Fast Fact #5 Jews were often accused of causing the plague to kill Christians even though they were just as likely to become infected as Christians
Fast Fact #6 almost no one suspected rats or fleas which were there in abundance
Review Question One Who first discovered the Bubonic Plague? Alexandre Yersin
Review Question Two How many cases are reported of the Black Death annually? 1,000 to 2,000 cases annually
Review Question Three There are two other types of the plague. What are they? Pneumonic and Septicemic plague
Review Question Four About how much of the Chinese population was wiped by the Bubonic Plague? About one third of the population
Review Question Five What year did Alexandre Yersin discover the Bubonic Plague? In 1884
Review Question Six If we use the term “black death” now, what term did they use then? “Pestilence” or “The Great Mortality”
1. 1346 2. 1347 3. Mid 1348 4. End 1348 5. Mid 1349 6. End 1349 7. 1350 8. c.1351 9. c.1353 10. Low incidence 9 8 10 7 6 5 4 2 1 3