Impact of the Black Death

The Black Death resulted in:

• Decreased economy
• Peasant revolts
• Doubt in the Church and God
• Room for medical advancement

http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/black-death3.htm

http://www.ourprg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Thetriumphofdeath.jpg

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What is the Black Death?

The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, wiped out about one-third of Europe's population during the Late Middle Ages.  It is a bacterial disease caused by Yersinia pestis, which is a type of bacteria carried by rats.  Fleas transferred the bacteria from rats to humans, by contracting the bacteria and then biting humans.

Symptoms include flu-like symptoms such as:

• Fever
• Headache
• Chills
• Weakness

The main symptom was the "buboes" which were swollen, tender lymph nodes.

 

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=141316#bubonic

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Symptoms_of_bubonic_plague.svg

http://www.skinsight.com/images/dx/webAtlas/bubonicPlague_45241_lg.jpg

http://www.cdc.gov/plague/faq/#risk

What is Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever?

Ebola is rare and often deadly disease named after the virus that causes the infection.  Ebolavirus is a member of the Filoviridae family which includes five different species of Ebola, four of which can successfully infect humans. The current 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa is the largest in recorded history as well as the first major outbreak of Ebola that this region of Africa has seen.  The Ebolavirus was not discovered until 1976 making it a relatively new type of infection.

Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/about.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001339.htm

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

http://www.healthline.com/health/ebola-hemorrhagic-fever#Overview1

Transmission and Symtoms of Ebola

Ebola is transmitted from to human through direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, sweat, vomit, breast milk, semen etc.  The virus origin has been detected in fruit bats, monkeys, and apes, and is then transmitted to humans via the same means of bodily fluids. This is similar to transmission of the Black Plague from fleas and rats.

Symptoms of Ebola appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus. In most cases symptoms appear after about a week. Symptoms may include: fever, extreme headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Comparing Symptoms

Both these diseases start out with flu-like symptoms (Fever, vomiting, headaches, muscle aches, etc…). Overtime, however, more distinguishable symptoms begin to develop. The most well known symptom of the Black Death is the formation of buboes. Buboes are lymph nodes that become infected and swollen. As the disease progresses, the infection will travel to other areas of the body. Eternal bleeding will occur at these affected areas, causing dark patches of skin.

As for Ebola, bleeding also occurs. Toward the end stages of the illness, an affected person will begin to bleed uncontrollably out of their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. 

Sources

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ebola-fever-virus-infection

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/health/ebola-fast-facts/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001339.htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/plague_facts/article.htm

http://www.healthline.com/health/plague#Overview1

Treating the Black Death in the Middle Ages

Since doctors had minimal knowledge about this disease, some methods were barbaric.  Treatment  methods include:

• Bed rest
• Washing patient with vinegar and rose water
• Cutting the buboes open and applying a mixture of tree resin, roots of white lilies and human feces
• Cutting veins leading to the heart and applying a mixture made of clay and violets
• Eating a bland diet of bread, fruit and vegetables as opposed to smelly foods like meat, fish and cheese
• An oral medicine made of roasted, ground up, freshly laid egg shells, chopped up leaves and petals of marigolds, boiled in ale. The patient drank this mixture once in the morning and once at night
• A live hen was strapped to one of the buboes to "suck out the disease" and urine was to be drank twice a day
• Beating themselves in order to repent for their sins (thought God was angry with humanity)

Prevention methods include:

• Sanitizing streets by burning human waste and infected dead bodies
• Turning away potentially infected ships coming into ports
• Quarantining infected patients
• No bathing
• No excercising
• No eating pork

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cures_for_the_black_death.htm

http://www.gohistorygo.com/#!black-plague-in-europe/c1c4q