The Plague: The Black Death

The plague also known as the Black Death came into existence in the mMiddle Aages. It was called the Black Death because of the dark blue areas of skin caused by hemorrhages. Caused by Ggram-negative Yersinia pestis, the plague is a disease is transmitted from one rat to another by the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis (Tortora, 2013, pg. 655). But if the host dies, the flea begins looking for a new host which could be another rodent or a human. The flea is usually very hungry because the bacteria forms a biofilm that covers or blocks the fleas’ digestive tract and the blood the flea ingests is quickly regurgitated. An arthropod vector isn’t always needed for plague transmission.

“From the flea bite, bacteria enter the human’s bloodstream and proliferate

This may be one of the most common tick-borne disease in the U.S. It is also known as Lyme borreliosis in Europe and Asia and is transmitted from animals to humans. It’s usually transferred by blacklegged ticks and the reservoir is usually mice and deer. They feed on mice and rats which is how they become infected and is the first and second feeding of their life cycle, then they lay dormant until they come in contact with a host which is usually an animal or human to feed on and transmit the disease. It then develops into an adult tick and adult ticks feed on deer which is the third feeding, and then mate. There are 3 stages of symptoms. First there is the early localized stage, which looks like a bull’s eye rash. The individual will also have swollen lymph nodes which appear when there is infection in the body. During the second phase if the individual still hasn’t received treatment, the heart will become affected. The heart may become so irregular that a pacemaker is needed. There may also be some chronic neurological, facial paralysis, oppressive fatigue, and memory loss. And in some cases, meningitis and encephalitis. In the third phase, months or years later, some patients develop arthritis which may affect them for years. So taking care of this disease as quickly as possible is very much needed and the use of insect repellent will prevent one from getting this disease (Tortora, 2013, pg.

Symptoms are nausea and vomiting, bloody diarrhea, joint and muscle aches, chest pain and cough, stomach pain and severe weight loss. “It spreads to people by contact with the skin or bodily fluids of an infected animal, like a monkey, chimp, or fruit bat. Then it moves from person to person the same way. Those who care for a sick person or bury someone who has died from the disease often get it” (Cassoobhoy, web, 2014). There is no cure for this disease so the best way to avoid getting it is to not travel to places where it is