I chose this piece of work because science is one of my best subjects and I felt that I put a lot of effort into it. I enjoyed doing this so much and I learnt a lot. Not just information on the plague but also researching and presentation skills. I hope you enjoy reading this and learn a bit of history about the plague from the case study. If I was to improve this PowerPoint I would improve the case study by doing MORE research on it, rather then giving up after 20min.

The bubonic plague is a type of bacterial disease caused by the bacterium ‘Yersinia pestis’ or ‘Pasteurella pestis’. This plague got it’s name because it refers to one of the symptoms a buboes which are painful swellings the size of an egg or an apple that grow in the groin, neck and armpits. Bubonic plague kills about 50% of infected patients in 3–7 days without treatment, and is believed by many to be the Black Death that swept through Europe in the 1340s, killing millions of people. According to a new study the bubonic plague may have originated in ancient Egypt. This is a picture of the bacteria and it is actually quite big and very nasty.

The Flea drinks infected rats blood The bacteria multiplies in the Fleas body The flea bites the human, in an open wound if possible. The human has become infected with the bubonic plague Human will die between 3-7 days. Flea bites more humans there fore creating an epidemic. Everybody dies

This disease is very and extremely painful and devastating. It changed the world. It is so contagious. If you had it you were shoved in a house with all the other sick people so it didn’t spread. The deadly disease has claimed nearly 200 million lives. It spreads so rapidly that there were epidemic’s all over the world mainly in Europe. The most infamous and devastating instance of the plague was the Black Death, which killed a quarter to half of the population of Europe.

 Day 1: Painful swellings called buboes appear in the groin neck and armpits.  Day 2: Vomiting and fever  Day 3: Bleeding under the skin causes dark blotches all over the body  Day 4: Disease attacked the nervous system causing spasm’s and fits putting the victim in terrible pain.  Day 5: Sometimes the buboes burst and a fowl smelling black liquid oozes from open boils. If this happens the victim usually lives. But most of the time they die.  Day 6: All of the above symptoms get worse and spasms are more frequent  Day 7: you die a horrible death.

The bubonic plague was the first step of the ongoing plague. Two other forms of the plague, pneumonic and septicaemia, resulted after a patient with the bubonic plague developed pneumonia or blood poisoning. Other symptoms include spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black, heavy breathing, continuous blood vomiting, aching limbs, coughing and terrible pain. The pain is usually caused by the actual decaying, or decomposing of the skin while the infected person is still alive. Upon death, the person will have the worst spasm for a period of time. This is a disease that occurs all over the world, But is thought to originate in Ancient Egypt.

 Back in the old days there was no treatment. People would come around and board up the house and whoever was inside stayed inside to die. They rang bells and shot cannons. They even tried to whip themselves and they tried to eat all the rats when really it was the fleas.  In modern times, several antibiotics are effective in treating the bubonic plague. These include the amino glycosides streptomycin and gentamicin, the tetracycline and doxy-cycline and the fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin. Patients with plague in the modern era usually recover completely with prompt diagnosis and treatment.

The Black Death reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348 unleashing a rampage of death across Europe. By the time the epidemic played itself out three years later, anywhere between 25% and 50% of Europe's population had fallen victim to the pestilence. No doctor's advice, no medicine could overcome this disease, very few recovered; most people died within about three days of the appearance of the tumours described above, most of them without any fever or other symptoms. The plight of the lower and most of the middle classes was even more pitiful to behold. Most of them remained in their houses, either through poverty or in hopes of safety, and fell sick by thousands. Many ended their lives in the streets both at night and during the day; and many others who died in their houses were only known to be dead because the neighbours smelled their decaying bodies. Dead bodies filled every corner. Most of them were treated in the same manner by the survivors, who were more Citizens of Tournai bury plague victims. These are fortunate to have coffins. Most victims were thrown in mass. With the aid of porters, if they could get them, they carried the bodies out of the houses and laid them at the door; where every morning quantities of the dead might be seen. They then were laid on biers or, as these were often lacking, on tables. People would have a cart and go around ringing a bell yelling “bring out your dead”. They died to most of the time and many were buried alive.