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| The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, circa 1562 |
The bubonic plague
is responsible for the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history. Known as
the Great Pestilence, Black Plague, Black Death and similar names, this
pandemic caused the deaths of an estimated 75-200 million people in Europe,
Asia, and North Africa. Unlike COVID, which is caused by a virus, bubonic
plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia
pestis which is commonly found in fleas carried by ground rodents,
especially rats. Humans bitten by the fleas can contract the disease.
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Citizens of Tournai Belgium Bury Plague Victims by Pierart dou Tielt, circa 1353 |
The Black Death originated
in China and Inner Asia, and was spread by the army that besieged the port of
Kaffa (now Feodosiya), Crimea in 1347. From there, ships carried the epidemic
to Mediterranean ports. It spread inland, affecting North Africa, mainland Europe,
Great Britain, and Scandinavia.
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Copper engraving of Doctor Schnabel, a plague doctor in
Rome, by Paul Fürst circa 1721 |
In 17th-century
Europe, the physicians who tended to plague victims usually wore an outfit credited
to Charles de Lorme, a physician who tended to many European royals. The
ensemble included a coat covered in scented wax, breeches connected to boots, a
tucked-in shirt, and a hat and gloves made of goat leather. The head covering
included spectacles and a mask with a nose, which de Lorme described as “half a
foot long, shaped like a beak, filled with perfume with only two holes, one on
each side near the nostrils, but that can suffice to breathe and carry along
with the air one breathes the impression of the [herbs] enclosed further along
in the beak.” The purpose of this beak was to remove bad smells, which were thought
to be the principal cause of the disease.
With no understanding as to the actual cause of the Black
Plague and little or no medical training, the doctors used a variety of
measures to treat victims. Putting frogs on swollen lymph nodes to “re-balance
the humors” or attaching leeches for bloodletting were common treatments.
Poultices of floral compounds or onion and butter were applied to the inflamed
areas. Even arsenic and coatings of mercury were used. In attempts to drive out the demons invading
the victims’ bodies, a variety of methods to induce diarrhea were tried. In the
end, most patients died, and an important task of the doctor was to compile
public records of plague deaths.
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Bubonic plague causes the skin and flesh to die and turn
black. CDC |
During the Great
Pestilence, three forms of the plague were seen. Bubonic plague refers to the
painful lymph node swellings called buboes which oozed pus and bled. Victims
underwent damage to the skin and underlying tissue until they were covered in
dark blotches, hence the name Black Plague or Black Death. This was the most
common form during the pandemic, with a mortality rate of 30-75%, with four out
of five victims dying within eight days of onset.
The pneumonic plague was airborne and
attacked the lungs before the rest of the body. Pneumonic plague was the second
most common form seen during the Black Death, with a mortality rate of 90-95%.
The third form
was septicemic plague. The bite of an infected flea was the primary route for
contracting this deadly form of blood poisoning that was almost always fatal,
with a mortality rate of 99-100%. This was the rarest of the three plague
varieties.
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| Bubonic plague victims in a mass grave in Martigues, France, 1720-1721 |
The Black Plague
peaked in Europe from 1347-1351. Although the pandemic is generally listed as
occurring between 1346 and 1358, isolated eruptions were subsequently documented
in various European locations up through 1770, when a two-year outbreak
occurred in the Balkans. The most recent global outbreak of bubonic plague
started in China in 1860 and didn't officially end until 1959. In the United
States, 1964 was our last plague-free year. Today, the bubonic plague can be
treated and cured with antibiotics.
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