What If the Black Death Happened Again?

 

The Black Death is still seen as the benchmark for devastating pandemics, more than six hundred years after it first swept across Europe and Asia in the 14th century. Also ominously referred to as the ‘Great Plague’ and the ‘Black Plague’, it was at its most potent and perilous between 1347 and 1351, killing upwards of 200 million people and wiping out up to 60% of the European population.

And the scary thing is that the plague still poses a very real threat. Between 2010 and 2015, there were over 3,200 reported cases of it around the world, resulting in nearly 600 deaths. Luckily, preventative measures and modern medicine have kept the disease from spreading on a scale as seen throughout history. The simplest measures include informing citizens when the plague is present in their region, taking extra care when treating flea bites, and refusing to handle animal carcasses. We also know today to quarantine those stricken with the plague, and to avoid potentially infected bodily fluids like pus and blood– knowledge that was either ignored or didn’t exist back in the 1300s. If it’s caught early enough, death only occurs in about 10% of those afflicted.

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