Science learns the plague is older, more important than previously believed

Plague changed the society and politics of Western Europe with global implications.

The Black Death is a historical footnote today, and the only people who worry about the plague are those who work around wild animals that could carry it. By and large, the plague is a thing of the past and few people care about it anymore. And this is a mistake.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - The plague, also known as Yersenia Pestis, or the bubonic plague, has made a tremendous impact on history and is likely the reason why modern, western civilization is precisely the way it is.

The plague is caused by the Y. Pestis bacteria, which new scientific research suggests evolved in the first century B.C. to become more infectious and lethal to humans than its evolutionary predecessor. The research suggests the primitive form of the plague, which was less deadly than Y. Pestis, could have existed as far back as 26,000 years ago.

The bubonic plague, which genetic evidence suggests evolved in the first century B.C., is a genuine killer and it is responsible for wiping out double-digit percentages of the human population when left unchecked.

The first pandemic outbreak of the plague is known as the Plague of Justinian, which spread across southeastern Europe from 541 to 544 AD, and killed so many people it weakened the Byzantine Empire. The Black Death is the most legendary outbreak, and it wiped out anywhere from a third, to half of Europe's population from 1347-1354.

The Black Death was so devastating that famine followed in its wake because there were not enough peasants and serfs to work the fields. The end result was a collapse of the feudalistic way of life, which was replaced with more modern notions of government where people have more influence over the decisions leaders make. In other words, we can speculate that without the Black Death, modern democracy as a form of government might be rare today.

The third great outbreak began in China and lasted for nearly a century from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth.

Between these major outbreaks have been several smaller ones, like the Great Plague in 1665-1666, and earlier plagues like those which swept through the Roman Empire on occasion.

Y. Pestis is a bacteria that makes its home in the guts of fleas. When a person or an animal is bit by an infected flea, the insect can vomit a tiny amount into its victim's wound, allowing the bacteria from its gut to pass into the new victim's bloodstream.

The bacteria quickly builds up in the body, causing the lymph nodes to swell tremendously. This causes excruciating pain and the glands, which can swell to the size of an apple, are called buboes, hence the name, bubonic plague. If the buboes are lanced and drained, and the patient kept hydrated, then they have a fair chance of surviving the disease. However, few people figured out this solution, leaving the disease to run its course.

In subsequent stages, the disease causes bruising under the skin, turning the patient black and blue and increasing the pain. Eventually, the disease enters the lungs, causing pneumonia. The patient begins coughing violently. Blood comes up. This is when the patient is most infectious, and anyone who catches the plague from breathing in cough droplets will immediately become sick themselves. This is a second form of the plague known as the pneumonic plague, and it is especially deadly because it starts in the lungs. Pneumonic plague victims often die within just 48 hours. Normal plague victims die within one week. Anywhere from ten percent to a third of victims may survive the disease, usually with some care.

Yersenia Pestis is still deadly today, and occasionally people die from it, but usually because they fail to get timely treatment. Such victims often live in remote areas where they pick up fleas from the sick animals. This is why people should not handle animals in the wild, especially those that are sick or have recently died.

The plague can be easily treated today, so quick detection and intervention can stop it, but time remains of the essence. More importantly, the plague remains highly infectious.

As the research indicates, the plague, which originated on the steppes of Central Asia many thousands of years ago, has a major impact on human history. Only by studying the disease and appreciating its virulence can we prevent it, and other diseases like it, from having an impact on the future.

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