Bubonic plague

Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is believed to have caused several epidemics or pandemics throughout history. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague, and is characterized by swollen, tender, inflamed lymph glands (called buboes); other forms are Septicemic plague, which occurs when plague bacteria multiply in the blood, and Pneumonic plague, which occurs when the lungs are infected.

Historical pandemics

Plague of Justinian

:For more complete information, see Plague of Justinian.

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:See also Climate changes of 535-536.

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The Plague of Justinian is the first known pandemic on record, and marks the first firmly recorded pattern of bubonic plague in A.D. 541–542. This outbreak is thought to have originated in Ethiopia or Egypt. The huge city of Constantinople imported massive amounts of grain, mostly from Egypt, to feed its citizens. The grain ships may have been the source of contagion for the city, with massive public granaries nurturing the rat and flea population. At its peak the plague was killing 5,000 people in Constantinople every day and ultimately destroyed perhaps 40 percent of the city's inhabitants. It went on to destroy up to a quarter of the human population of the eastern Mediterranean.

Related Topics:
Pandemic - Constantinople

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In A.D. 588 a second major plague wave spread through the Mediterranean into what is now France. A maximum figure of 25 million dead is considered a reasonable estimate.

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Black Death

:For more complete information, see Black Death.

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During the mid-14th century, the Black Death, a massive and deadly epidemic, swept through Eurasia, killing one-third of the population (according to some estimates) and changing the course of Asian and European history. The 200 million victims constituted the largest death toll from any known epidemic of any disease. Many scientists and historians believe the Black Death was an incidence of bubonic plague. A strong presence of the more contagious pneumonic and septicemic varieties increased the pace of infection, spreading the disease deep into inland areas of the continents.

Related Topics:
14th century - Eurasia

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Plague continued to strike parts of Europe throughout the 15th century, the 16th century and the 17th century with varying degrees of intensity and fatality. Researchers still do not agree on why large outbreaks of the infection have never returned to Europe. However, changes in hygiene habits and strong efforts toward public health and sanitation probably had a significant impact on the survival of the disease.

Related Topics:
Europe - 15th century - 16th century - 17th century

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Third Pandemic

:For more complete information see Third Pandemic.

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The Third Pandemic began in China in 1855, spreading the bubonic plague to all inhabited continents, and ultimately killing more than 12 million people in India and China alone. Casualty patterns indicate that waves of this pandemic may have been from two different sources. The first was primarily bubonic and was carried around the world through ocean-going trade, transporting infected persons, rats, and cargos harboring fleas. The second, more virulent strain was primarily pneumonic in character, with a strong person-to-person contagion. This strain was largely confined to Manchuria and Mongolia. Researchers during the "Third Pandemic" identified plague vectors and the plague bacillus, leading in time to modern treatment methods.

Related Topics:
Third Pandemic - China - India - Manchuria - Mongolia

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