THE BLACK DEATH

BY NICK PAULSON
WHAT IS THE BLACK
DEATH?
• Also called the Plague, the Black Death is a disease caused by the
parasite Yersinia Pestis, which also causes the Bubonic Plague
• The Plague appears as black boils all over the victims body
• The Black Death originated in the sixth century AD, during the reign
of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I
• The most famous outbreak was during the Middle Ages, when it
killed 20 million people in Europe
• It was brought to Europe by trade ships, the crews of which
already had it
• It was brought to Europe from Asia and Africa
• Today, the Plague exists in Africa, Asia, and small parts of the
United States
CAUSES

• Caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis

• It is not a hereditary disease
• It is easily spread
• There are several different ways of getting the Black Death
• Rat bites
• Flea bites- fleas get it from eating the flesh of dead rats
• the droplets from an infected person’s cough
• Contact with the bodily tissue of a infected person
SYMPTOMS

• The most obvious symptom is black boils covering the victims body
• Also, the Plague causes fever
• Also causes intense pain and vomiting
• In some cases causes delirium
• If not quickly treated, it can lead to death
 TREATMENTS/CURES
• IN THE MIDDLE AGES, THE FIRST MAJOR
OUTBREAK OF BLACK DEATH, THERE WAS NO
CURE
• DOCTORS WORE SPECIAL MASKS TO PROTECT
FROM THE PLAGUE WHILE EXAMINING
PATIENTS
• TODAY, IF TREATED EARLY, THE BLACK DEATH
CAN BE CURED
• TREATMENTS INCLUDE:
• STREPTOMYCIN
• GENTAMICIN
• CIPROFLOXACIN
• MOST TREATMENTS HAVE TO BE TAKEN IN
LARGE DOSES SEVERAL TIMES A DAY
STATISTICS AND FACTS
• During the Middle Ages, some people believed the Plague to
be a punishment from God
• People would go from town to town and viciously beat
themselves in the hopes that God would end the Plague
• One way plague doctors tried to cure victims of the Plague
was boil lancing
• The Black Death killed between one quarter and one half of
Europe’s population in the 13th an 14th centuries
• It is possible that the Mongols used the Black Death as a
biological weapon to conquer Caffa
BIBLIOGRAPHY

• “Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa - Volume 8, Number 9-September 2002 - Emerging
Infectious Disease Journal - CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 16 July 2010, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/8/9/01-0536_article.
• “Plague.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Oct.
2015, www.cdc.gov/plague/healthcare/clinicians.html.
• History.com Staff. “Black Death.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010,
www.history.com/topics/black-death.