Epidemics 1.1 WORLD
What disease, transmitted in particular by rat fleas, ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages?
75% of players answered correctly.
THE CORRECT ANSWER: Black death
The Black Death is one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. It hit Europe hard between 1347 and 1351. This infectious disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted mainly to humans by fleas living on black rats. At that time, lack of hygiene and promiscuity in medieval cities favored an extremely rapid spread of the scourge. It is estimated that the Black Death exterminated between 30% and 60% of the total European population (25 to 50 million victims) and between 75 and 200 million deaths worldwide. The economic, social and demographic consequences were monumental, lastingly transforming the continent. The image of plague doctors wearing bird's beak masks remains a striking symbol of this dark era. This major health crisis also stimulated the first public quarantine policies to try to contain the contamination.