Week 5: Notes and Slides (7-8) Flashcards
Define
Biological Warfare:
The use of pathogens or toxins as weapons to inflict harm and spread fear among populations, as seen when decomposing bodies were catapulted into towns to spread the plague.
How did the plague spread from Central Asia to Europe?
The plague spread via trade routes, with infected traders fleeing sieged trading posts. The use of decomposing bodies in warfare at trading outposts further spread the disease to nearby regions, including Sicily, where it spread rapidly across Europe.
True or False: Some medieval cities appeared to have natural resistance to the plague due to penicillin-like compounds in their water reservoirs.
Answer: True
Reason: Studies suggest that some cities, like Yaje, might have been spared due to penicillin-like mold in water sources, which could have acted as a low-level antibiotic.
Explain the role of fleas in the transmission of the bubonic plague.
Fleas carrying the plague bacterium would bite infected rats, ingesting blood contaminated with the pathogen.
When the flea bit a new host, such as a human, it regurgitated infected blood back into the wound due to a biological blockage in its digestive system, spreading the plague.
Define Little Ice Age (L.I.A.):
A period of climate instability beginning around 1300, marked by cooler temperatures, which may have contributed to the spread of the plague by affecting the behavior of fleas and rats, the primary vectors and carriers of the disease.
What was one reason the city of Yaje might have been spared from significant plague casualties?
A) The city had strict quarantine measures
B) It was isolated and had minimal trade connections
C) The citizens had a natural immunity to the plague
D) Its water supply contained penicillin-like compounds that may have acted as a natural
antibiotic
D
Describe how climate instability during the Little Ice Age may have influenced the spread of the plague.
The cooler and more variable climate of the Little Ice Age may have increased the survival and activity of fleas, causing them to bite more frequently due to hunger, which in turn accelerated the spread of the plague from rats to humans.
Where did the plague originate, and how did it spread to Europe?
The plague originated in Central Asia and spread to Europe partly through germ warfare by the Mongols
In what year did the plague first arrive in Europe, and where did it initially enter?
The plague arrived in Southeast Europe in 1347 and spread from there.
True or False: The mortality rate of the plague in Europe varied widely, with averages between 15-65%.
True. Mortality rates varied, averaging between 33-50% across the continent.
Fill in the blank: The plague had a continental average mortality rate of __________ in Europe.
33-50%
