Lerios, Janine Kyla G.

Week 14: Course Task 8

BSN 3-YA-11 NCMB 312

Why bubonic plague is called black death? Do you think bubonic plague and COVID 19 is just re-existing
today? Read the history and explain your answer? Submit a 200 to 300-word essay reflection.

Europe experienced a severe plague outbreak in the middle of the 14th century, but it did not come first.
Additionally, it was ignorant of a disease that was already wreaking havoc and killing a great number of people
elsewhere. Before the infested ships arrived in Sicily, rumors of a frightful sickness, devastating the population
of first China, India, Egypt, Persia, and Syria, had spread near and far. Nobody understood how it happened or
why. Further, when it appeared, it was by all accounts unstoppable. The lymph nodes in the groin or under the
arms of those who had the Black death would start to swell. The growths would soon develop into big blackish
blue egg-sized lumps, or for the even worse fortunate, swell to the size of apples. These would subsequently
fester and discharge various physiological fluids. Beyond this, those with the disease could develop any
combination of a series of additional symptoms which include fever, pain, chills, sweating or diaphoresis, upset
stomach, and diarrhea. Almost always, this was followed by death. Studies have shown that the Yersinia pestis
bacteria, which thrived in rodent populations and was disseminated by fleas that had bitten sick animals, was
what caused the bubonic plague or black death. This was discovered after a series of events and observations.
The place of origin for the Black Death was most likely a colony of marmots—small, prairie-dog-like rodents—
in Central Asia. Marmots generally avoid contact with humans, but rats will readily come in contact with both
marmots and human populations. Rats are the perfect vector for the bubonic plague, at least in the eyes of the
plague, because they also carry fleas.

There are resemblances between bubonic plague and COVID-19. The transmission of both diseases is rapid and
with high virulence of the pathogen. In Wuhan, China, COVID-19 was also found, much like the epidemic. A
WHO investigator visited China to study what is the host for COVID-19. Similar to how the plague spread,
COVID-19 may have arisen through the use of (3) cold-chain food products, (2) direct transfer from bats to
humans, and (1) bats through another animal. Throughout human history, there have been several outbreaks, but
only one epidemic—the plague—has required a full quarantine. As it’s said, “history repeats itself”. The Black
Death, which originated in the East, spread among the populace in cities and towns, and even reached other
countries through trade, was an undetectable, undetected, and mischievous illness. The history of quarantine
dates back to the time of the Black Death (Plague) when medicine was incapable to fight the disease. Avoiding
contact with contaminated objects and infected subjects was the only way to evade the disease.