The Bubonic Plague, The Spanish Flu and Covid-19

Name: Bhnaymattie Harnauth

School: The Bishops’ High

Class: Form 4B

Subject: Human & Social Biology

Teacher: Miss Mangra

 Assignment Questions
Part 3: Due May 10th, 2020
7. Give a short historical description of the Bubonic (black) Plague and The Spanish Flu. Include
how they started, how they spread, how people suffered, and how they were able to get over
them.
8. Make a comparison of these pandemics to the current COVID-19 outbreak based on your
research and personal experience. (Knock yourself out with this one, write what you want, just
express yourself)
 The Bubonic (black) Plague

Plague is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis. These bacteria are found
mainly in rodents, particularly rats, and in the fleas that feed on them. Other animals and humans
usually contract the bacteria from rodent or flea bites. There are three forms of plagues: bubonic,
septicemic, or pneumonic plague. In this case, we are going to learn about the bubonic plague.

The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and
Asia in the mid-1300s. In October of 1347, 12 ships dropped anchor at a Sicilian port.
Those who eagerly approached the ships were met with a grisly sight. Almost all aboard were
either dead or barely alive, their skin erupting with blackened boils that dripped blood and pus.
In horror, the Sicilian authorities demanded the ships set sail, but though they left, the damage
had already been done. The Black Death was now in Europe and millions would die in what is
considered one of the greatest disasters in history. Over the next five years, the Black Death
would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s
population.

Europe was hit hard by the plague, but it was not hit first. It was also not unaware of a disease
that was already bringing widespread death and destruction elsewhere. Before the infested ships
arrived in Sicily, rumors of a frightful sickness devastating the populations of first China and
then India, Egypt, Persia, and Syria in the early 1340’s had spread near and far. While no one
knew what caused it or why, it seemed to follow trade routes spanning the near and Far East.
Symptoms of the Black Plague

Those struck by the Black Death would begin to swell at the lymph nodes located in their groin
area or under arm regions. The growths would soon develop into large blackish blue egg-sized
lumps, or for the even less fortunate, expand to the size of apples. These would then fester and
ooze various bodily fluids. Beyond this, those with the disease could develop any combination of
a series of additional symptoms. These included fever, pain, chills, sweating, upset stomach,
fatigue or malaise, muscle aches and diarrhea. Almost always, this was followed by death.

The Bubonic Plague attacks the lymphatic system, causing swelling in the lymph nodes
(called buboes—hence the name bubonic). If untreated, the infection can spread to the blood or
lungs.

What caused it and how did The Black Death Spread?

According to those who observed its effects first-hand, all it appeared to take was brief physical
contact with the clothing of someone who was sick to pass the disease on to another. Though,
some doctors claimed that it was the spirit leaving the body of the deceased that infected others
as it passed by. Obviously, at this point in history the real methods of disease transmission were
not yet well understood. Without understanding it, most were helpless to defend against it.

The Black Death is a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that circulates among wild
rodents where they live in great numbers and density. Such an area is called a ‘plague focus’ or a
‘plague reservoir’. Plague among humans arises when rodents in human habitation, normally
black rats, become infected. The black rat, also called the ‘house rat’ and the ‘ship rat’, likes to
live close to people, the very quality that makes it dangerous. Normally, it takes ten to fourteen
days before plague has killed off most of a contaminated rat colony, making it difficult for great
numbers of fleas gathered on the remaining, but soon- dying, rats to find new hosts. After three
days of fasting, hungry rat fleas turn on humans. From the bite site, the contagion drains to a
lymph node that consequently swells to form a painful bubo, most often in the groin, on the
thigh, in an armpit or on the neck. The infection takes three–five days to incubate in people
before they fall ill, and another three–five days before, in 80 per cent of the cases, the victims
die.
Importantly, plague was spread considerable distances by rat fleas on ships. Infected ship rats
would die, but their fleas would often survive and find new rat hosts wherever they landed.
Unlike human fleas, rat fleas are adapted to riding with their hosts; they readily also infest
clothing of people entering affected houses and ride with them to other houses or localities. This
conspicuous feature constitutes proof that the Black Death and plague in general is an insect-
borne disease.

How people suffered

Few areas other than some islands cut off from the rest of Europe by the sea made it through the
pandemic plague-free. The rest of the population was not so lucky. The bacterium infiltrated
virtually every European city’s defenses and many who appeared perfectly healthy one day could
be dead a few days later. It was uncommon though possible for someone to survive a week or
two before he or she died. Compounding problems further, those with the disease would
typically be asymptomatic for the first few days and so no one would be aware that they had
caught it. This meant that isolating them from the rest of society was impossible. Those who
tried fleeing for the country were not safe there either. The plague decimated livestock as well
and countless pigs, cows, chickens, goats, and sheep who also died a brutal death. This was such
a problem that it led to a shortage of wool throughout the continent. While many European areas
had a death figure of around 30%, 90% of the Italian city of Florence perished. Sometimes,
bodies of the deceased remained where they had died as there were not enough people still living
to bury them. Thousands of French villages in addition to areas in other locations were left
without a single remaining soul. In some instances, nature eventually took over, and areas that
people once called home were re-claimed by surrounding forest. Most estimates place Europe’s
death total between 50 and 70 million, though the CDC claims it killed as much as 60% of the
population, which is considerably more. World-wide estimates typically range from 155 to 200
million. The world at the time was a mere 500 million people, so nearly half of all of its
inhabitants, or again according to some sources even more, were killed.

How Did The Black Death End?

The plague never really ended and it returned with a vengeance years later. But officials in the
Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa were able to slow its spread by keeping arriving sailors
in isolation until it was clear they were not carrying the disease—creating social distancing that
relied on isolation to slow the spread of the disease.

The sailors were initially held on their ships for 30 days (a trentino), a period that was later
increased to 40 days, or a quarantine—the origin of the term “quarantine” and a practice still
used today. 
 The Spanish Flu

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500
million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed an
estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans. The
1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the United States and parts of Asia before
swiftly spreading around the world. At the time, there were no effective drugs or
vaccines to treat this killer flu strain. Citizens were ordered to wear masks, schools,
theaters and businesses were shuttered and bodies piled up in makeshift morgues
before the virus ended its deadly global march.

What Is the Flu?

Influenza, or flu, is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. The flu virus is highly
contagious: When an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, respiratory droplets are
generated and transmitted into the air, and can then can be inhaled by anyone nearby.

Additionally, a person who touches something with the virus on it and then touches
his or her mouth, eyes or nose can become infected. During the flu pandemic of 1918,
the New York City health commissioner tried to slow the transmission of the flu by
ordering businesses to open and close on staggered shifts to avoid overcrowding on
the subways.
Spanish Flu Symptoms
The first wave of the 1918 pandemic occurred in the spring and was generally mild.
The sick, who experienced such typical flu symptoms as chills, fever and fatigue,
usually recovered after several days, and the number of reported deaths was low.

However, a second, highly contagious wave of influenza appeared with a vengeance in

the fall of that same year. Victims died within hours or days of developing symptoms,
their skin turning blue and their lungs filling with fluid that caused them to suffocate.

What Caused the Spanish Flu?

It’s unknown exactly where the particular strain of influenza that caused the pandemic
came from; however, the 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, America and areas of
Asia before spreading to almost every other part of the planet within a matter of
months.

Despite the fact that the 1918 flu wasn’t isolated to one place, it became known
around the world as the Spanish flu, as Spain was hit hard by the disease and was not
subject to the wartime news blackouts that affected other European countries. (Even
Spain's king, Alfonso XIII, reportedly contracted the flu.)

One unusual aspect of the 1918 flu was that it struck down many previously healthy,
young people—a group normally resistant to this type of infectious illness—including
a number of World War I servicemen.

Although the death toll attributed to the Spanish flu is often estimated at 20 million to
50 million victims worldwide, other estimates run as high as  100 million victims—
around 3 percent of the world’s population. The exact numbers are impossible to know
due to a lack of medical record-keeping in many places.
The Flu Takes Heavy Toll on Society
The flu took a heavy human toll, wiping out entire families and leaving countless
widows and orphans in its wake. Funeral parlors were overwhelmed and bodies piled
up. Many people had to dig graves for their own family members.

The flu was also detrimental to the economy. In the United States, businesses were
forced to shut down because so many employees were sick. Basic services such as
mail delivery and garbage collection were hindered due to flu-stricken workers.

In some places there weren’t enough farm workers to harvest crops. Even state and
local health departments closed for business, hampering efforts to chronicle the spread
of the 1918 flu and provide the public with answers about it.

Fighting the Spanish Flu

When the 1918 flu hit, doctors and scientists were unsure what caused it or how to
treat it. Unlike today, there were no effective vaccines or antivirals, drugs that treat
the flu. (The first licensed flu vaccine appeared in America in the 1940s. By the
following decade, vaccine manufacturers could routinely produce vaccines that would
help control and prevent future pandemics.)

Complicating matters was the fact that World War I had left parts of America with a
shortage of physicians and other health workers. And of the available medical
personnel in the U.S., many came down with the flu themselves.

Additionally, hospitals in some areas were so overloaded with flu patients that
schools, private homes and other buildings had to be converted into makeshift
hospitals, some of which were staffed by medical students.
Officials in some communities imposed quarantines, ordered citizens to wear masks
and shut down public places, including schools, churches and theaters. People were
advised to avoid shaking hands and to stay indoors, libraries put a halt on lending
books and regulations were passed banning spitting.

Spanish Flu Pandemic Ends

By the summer of 1919, the flu pandemic came to an end, as those that were infected
either died or developed immunity.

Almost 90 years later, in 2008, researchers announced they’d discovered what made
the 1918 flu so deadly: A group of three genes enabled the virus to weaken a victim’s
bronchial tubes and lungs and clear the way for bacterial pneumonia.

Since 1918, there have been several other influenza pandemics, although none as
deadly. A flu pandemic from 1957 to 1958 killed around 2 million people worldwide,
including some 70,000 people in the United States, and a pandemic from 1968 to 1969
killed approximately 1 million people, including some 34,000 Americans.
 Covid-19 and the Black Plague:
Similarities and Differences
Differences
Unlike coronavirus, most scholars agree on the cause of bubonic plague. Bubonic plague
is caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Many people are speculating different causes of
the corona virus, like the Chinese person eating the bat to the unsanitary conditions of the
Chinese Wuhan market, while others are speculating even further into conspiracy
theories, like it was created in a lab, it was all part of Bill Gate’s plan and the Chinese
Government created the virus to lessen the population. In my opinion, the cause of the
virus isn’t as important as a cure right now and scholars should focus on curing it for
now.
Unlike coronavirus, once again, bubonic plague rarely spreads directly from person to
person. According to the plague theory, fleas carry the plague-causing bacteria from
rodents to humans. In contrast, COVID-19 seems to spread easily from person to person.

The plague spread widely and indiscriminately, killing young, healthy people alongside
others, often in less than a week. However, that's not the case with the novel coronavirus
outbreak. According to the CDC, older people are more susceptible to serious symptoms,
as are people with heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes.
Although there are still occasional outbreaks of bubonic plague, this disease can now be
controlled using antibiotic medicine. Unfortunately, no cure or vaccine has yet been
developed for COVID-19 infection, with treatment being supportive in nature.
In October of 1347, 12 ships dropped anchor at a Sicilian port. People were eager to greet
the passengers but were greeted with a horrible sight, which was known to be the Black
Plague. The damage was already done by the time the ships were sent away.
Contrastingly, in 2020 at least three cruise ships from coronavirus-stricken areas have
 been refused port in places like Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines out of concerns their
passengers and crew might spread infection.
COVID-19 is definitely not as lethal as the Black Plague. The coronavirus also spreads
faster than the Black Plague did, though that killed more people.

Similarities
The most alarming similarity between the Bubonic Plague and the novel Covid-19 is the
way the public reacted. During the Black Death in the 14th century, Jewish
communities appeared to be dying in fewer numbers than their Christian neighbours.
Many saw this as evidence that the Jews were intentionally spreading the disease by
poisoning wells, rivers and springs. As a result, Jewish people across Europe
were tortured and killed. Today, Asians around the world have become the target of
racist and xenophobic attacks. Businesses in London’s Chinatown have reported a slump
in trade, blaming the spread of “fake news” for the rising fear of eating Asian food. In
Rome, a cafe near the Trevi fountain has prohibited “all people coming from China” from
entering. In Bolivia, three Japanese tourists were quarantined in a hospital, despite having
never travelled to China, nor exhibiting any symptoms of the infection.
In my opinion, I don’t think the entire Chinese race should be blamed for this virus, if
even the race at all. Innocent Asian people are being tormented and are faced with racist
comments more often than usual now, which I think is extremely unfair.

We now know that bubonic plague – which was the cause of the Black Death in the 14th
century – was transmitted to humans from fleas.Once the disease had reached the
respiratory system, it could then be passed on through coughing or sneezing. But 
explanations for the rapid spread of the plague ranged from divine punishment for
collective sin to the alignment of the stars. Other interpretations centred on the spread
of bad smells or “miasmas” as the source of infection. Misinformation was spreading like
wildfire. Unfortunately, years later we are repeating the same mistakes. The origins of
coronavirus have recently been reported as an accidental leak of a bio-weapon created by
the Chinese government. On social media, links have been drawn between the virus and
 5G networks, with one popular Facebook group maintaining that the virus is a “cover up”
for 5G-related illnesses.
Another resemblance is socioeconomic. In the United States, covid-19 is mostly affecting
poor people, as well as blacks and Latinos. Overall, these groups tend to have poorer
health and less access to health care, and they are more likely to live in crowded,
unhealthy conditions and to work in jobs that require them to come into close contact
with others who may be infected. The situation 350 years ago in London was similar.
During the epidemic, the London city government counted the dead, tracking how many
people died of plague in each parish. Examining these lists, both 17th-century readers and
historians have found that the poorest neighborhoods tended to have the highest death
rates from the plague. The reasons for this are similar to today’s disparities — the poor
were already less healthy, lived in dense, unsanitary neighborhoods and did the city’s
dirty work.
Another similarity is the fact that quarantine was also a method used to defeat the black
plague as it is being used currently.

According to reports, during the Bubonic Plague, the people were in a state of confusion and
constant fear. Certain countries were on lockdown and you weren’t allowed to leave your house.
The people were helpless against the plague because they couldn’t do anything about it. From
my personal experience, though Covid-19 is not as lethal as the Black Death was, people are in
the same state of helplessness, fear and confusion as it was during the Black Death. There is a
lack of cure as it was for the Black Death and people are worried, not to mention the fact that we
do not know the real cause of Covid-19.
 The Spanish Flu and COVID-19:
Similarities and Differences
Differences
Most countries in Europe were under war censorship regimes that limited the spread of
accurate, lifesaving information about the flu outbreak, as opposed to now where false
rumours are spreading like wildfire due to social media.
Antiviral drugs were many decades from being developed; the first came out in 1963 and
Antiviral drugs which are available to us are fortunately aiding in the fight against
Coronavirus.
The Spanish flu, unusually for an influenza, was less lethal for older people, perhaps
because a similar 1830s flu outbreak granted older people still alive in 1918 some limited
immunity. The coronavirus, by contrast, has had its most devastating impact on older
people.
The Spanish Flu spreads faster than COVID-19.

Similarities
They had social distancing measures like washing your hands, wearing masks, staggering
rush hour so you don’t have massive crowds, isolation and quarantine. Those ancient
methods are being practiced currently by us.
The Spanish Flu and Covid-19 are both conclusively viral infections.

Both Covid-19 and the Spanish flu have already had massive effects outside of their
immediate health consequences. The Spanish flu sped up the end of the war by
weakening the ability of each side to field armies; it may even have affected the outcome,
though the evidence there is weaker.Covid-19’s economic effects might outstrip the
Spanish flu’s, even if the health effects turn out to be milder, due to the economy’s move
toward in-person services, hospitality, and globalized supply chains, all of which are
vulnerable to an outbreak like this.

COVID-19 and influenza viruses have a similar disease presentation. That is, they both
cause respiratory disease, which presents as a wide range of illness from asymptomatic or
mild through to severe disease and death.

Both viruses are transmitted by contact, droplets and fomites. As a result, the same public
health measures, such as hand hygiene and good respiratory etiquette (coughing into your
elbow or into a tissue and immediately disposing of the tissue), are important actions all
can take to prevent infection.
The Spanish flu as well as the Coronavirus were exacerbated by travel, the first by ships
and the other by aeroplanes.
 References
1. www.who.int
2. www.globalnews.ca
3. www.medium.com
4. www.vox.com
5. www.historyextra.com
6. www.wired.com
7. www.washingtonpost.com
8. www.theconversation.com
9. www.history.com
10. www.medicinenet.com