The Plague, also known as bubonic plague, pestis, or the Black Death, was an acute, severe infection caused by the bacillus Yersina pestis (formerly known as Pasteurella pestis, now named after Yersin who first described it in 1894). This bacillus is primarily an internal parasite of wild rodents, such as rats, mice and squirrels, for whom the resulting illness may be acute, subacute, or chronic. It is carried to man by fleas deserting dying or dead animals, in search of nourishment. It may enter the bloodstream directly as the flea bites the host, or indirectly through contact between fleas' excrement, and scratches or lesions on the skin. Massive human epidemics have occurred. The most infamous was the Black Death of the Middle Ages. More recently, infections have occurred sporadically but have tended to be limited.

Modern science has identified two main types of plague; bubonic plague and primary pneumonic plague. Bubonic plague was named after buboes (enlarged lymph

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