As a history B.A., I should know this but I keep getting the two confused. I know from a medical standpoint that these two things are different.
How are the Black Death and the Bubonic Plague two different things? I am aware that the Bubonic Plague was a result of the transmission of "yersinia pestis" to the known world (at the time anyway).
Thanks for clarifying this for me.
Tags: known world, Conditions and Diseases, bubonic plague, the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague, medical standpoint
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Well, the above answer is sort of correct. The Black Death refers to the plague which swept Europe from 1347 to 1351, killing an estimated 200 million people in 1347 alone.
Plague refers to Yersinia Pestis, in the Bubonic, Pnuemonic, and Septicemic forms known to science today.
There was a study done in 2002 that seemed to show that the Black death may not have been Plague, specifically because of the lack of rat population die-off, and because of the speed of transmission. Not all the experts agree, however.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1925513.stm
Also, the BBC History Series has a great set of articles about the Black Death at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml
This has interested me over the last 40 years because as a young Army Medic in Vietnam I was with a unit that encountered Plague infecting human beings. It was a real wake up call to learn that this medieval killer was still a modern day problem.
The Black Death was a specific plague from 1347 to 1351, it is believed to be Bubonic Plague but is not confirmed.
Yersinia pestis is the bacterium that causes the disease "plague".
There are several manifestations of plague, the main ones are:
- Bubonic plague, which occurs when Y. pestis is transmitted to humans by fleas, causing the classic swollen lymph nodes known as buboes.
- Pneumonic plague, a more lethal form that can be transmitted from person to person.
- Septicaemic plague, an infection of the blood that can result in either case.
"The Black Death" specifically refers to the pandemic of bubonic plague that occured around 1347.
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