Clearly, from the warnings we get from the federal government and the CDC (Center for Disease Control), a pandemic is something to be feared and steps must be made to avoid one at all costs. In the middle ages, there was no central government to mobilize to save citizens. The Black Death eliminated between 75 and 200 million people in only 4 years (between 1347 and 1352). Scientists believe that the disease spread via trade routes from central Asia.
Countries without lots of trade fared better during the Black Death than most of Europe, the Netherlands, Asia, and India. The book states that 'Poland, Belgium, and the mountainous Basque region largely escaped the Black Death, as did many other isolated alpine locations through the Alps.'
Scientists have tried to figure out how so many people could have died in such a short time. One theory is that it wasn't one type of disease (after all, there were only so many rats available to cause such havoc), but rather a combination of many different infections, such as bubonic plague, typhus, smallpox and other respiratory infections, all at the same time affecting people who had reduced immunity due to so much illness.
Countries without lots of trade fared better during the Black Death than most of Europe, the Netherlands, Asia, and India. The book states that 'Poland, Belgium, and the mountainous Basque region largely escaped the Black Death, as did many other isolated alpine locations through the Alps.'
Scientists have tried to figure out how so many people could have died in such a short time. One theory is that it wasn't one type of disease (after all, there were only so many rats available to cause such havoc), but rather a combination of many different infections, such as bubonic plague, typhus, smallpox and other respiratory infections, all at the same time affecting people who had reduced immunity due to so much illness.
