Probably the worst disease of our century, the Black Death has killed millions of people and spread fear and horror throughout all of Europe. Everyday, hundreds of people are dying to the unknown disease. No cure is known, leaving millions vulnerable. We will catch the disease, and we will die.
The Plague, as it is also known, is caused by Yersina pestis, which is carried by a certain type of flea. The infected fleas bite rats that run rampant throughout the city, and inject the deadly disease into the animal. The rats constantly have had this problem with the fleas, but it is presumed that they only recently passed the disease on to humans. A change in climate or similar occurrence has probably caused the rats to come into contact more frequently with humans. This increase in contact frequency has caused humans to contract the disease, which is deadly.
The symptoms of the Plague are similar to other, much more minor diseases, so it is only until the disease is at a critical stage that we realize it is the Plague. Symptoms include chills, high fever, delirium, vomiting, and rapid heartbeat. Eventually, the disease evolves into one of two strands. You can either get the pneumonic plague form, or you can get the bubonic plague form. If you have the bubonic plague, you eventually begin noticing large swellings, called buboes, on your groin, neck, and armpits that are extremely painful. The pneumonic plague is a respiratory - attacking disease. Although the bubonic plague is much more frequent, the pneumonic plague has killed many more people.
As stated previously, the Black Death has no known cure. It is highly contaminable, and people with the disease are usually left or placed in confined areas, where they cannot spread the disease to others. It is a horrific disease, and about the only way you can hope to stop it is pray you don't pick up the disease. We can only hope that the disease subsides soon, because it is awful.
