Researchers claim that the epidemic ‘ The Black Death ‘ began in modern-day northern Kyrgyzstan about 1338-1339, nearly 7-8 years before it destroyed much of the world, according to research published in the magazine Science on June 15.
The bubonic epidemic that swept Northern Africa, Western Asia, the Middle East, and Europe in 1346-53 is known as the Black Death.
The Black Death, which killed billions and billions, was caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis and transmitted by fleas carried by rodent hosts, according to most academics.
The Y. pestis microorganism transmits to human populations, which then passed it on to others, either through a human flea vector or immediately via the respiratory system.
The disease was described as the mortal disease of buboes’ and ‘pestilence of buboes’ by Florentine chronicler Matteo Villani in 1348.
The onset of the illness was followed by a high fever and bloody vomiting. Most deaths occurred within 2-7 days after becoming infected.
One of the academics participating in the project, historian Philip Slavin, investigated the tombstones, which included Syriac inscriptions stating that the deaths occurred from an unidentified epidemic or “pestilence.”
The research team then retrieved DNA from the teeth of 7 bodies buried at the cemetery and discovered Y. pestis bacterium genetic traces.
The phrase “Black Death” is thought to have originated from the black scars that emerged on the bodies of some plague victims. Historians contend that this name, which didn’t appear until hundreds of years later, had less to do with the disease’s clinical signs but more to do with how European writers perceived the pandemic from the 19th century onwards.
It’s hard to know the precise death toll due to a lack of thorough historical data from the period. According to Norwegian historian Ole J Benedictow, who wrote significantly on the disease, the plague killed 60-65 percent of Europe’s population or 52 million people.
Agnolo di Tura, an Italian writer, wrote in 1348 of his experience at Siena, “Great pits were made and stacked deep with the vast number of dead.” And they died in droves at all hours of the day and night.”
According to The Indian Express, The Black Death eventually resulted in a rise in religious discrimination against Jews, who were accused of the transmission of disease.