In the Year of the Rat comes to the realm,
Unexpectedly, the hottest topic turned out to be "lung fever". When I went to pay New Year's greetings this year, I really didn't know whether to talk to my relatives or them. Nevertheless, today we will talk about the plague that has historically been related to rats: the "Black Death" that occurred in fourteenth-century Europe.
At present, most scholars believe that the "Black Death" is actually a plague. However, since the plague bacterium that caused plague was not "discovered" until 1894, the true cause of the Black Death could not be 100% confirmed.
That said, Venice in the fourteenth century was a city with very developed commerce. The large amount of food accumulated in the city also feeds a large number of rats. In 1348, merchant ships to and from Venice brought rats infected with plague from China. The jumping ants on the rats, after sucking the blood of mice, were also infected with the same germs.
When these mice and jumping ants landed in Venice, they also lamented the rats on the ground. Bacteria are transmitted to humans. After these germs infect a person's lungs, they are released into the air with a hissing and infect the next unlucky ghost.
Underdevelopment of medicine
In the era of unprosperous medicine and no anti-biotic, the mortality rate of infected people is extremely high. Patients with infected tissues basically do not live more than 24 hours. Thus, in the first year of the Black Death's landfall, Venice lost half of its inhabitants. Throughout the end of the bombing, the Black Death most likely wiped out about 60% of Europe's population.
Black Death dissemination
Jews poisoned well water
At first, many Europeans thought that Jews were poisoned under well water (poor Jews, no matter what era there were always people who hated them). However, the epidemic did not improve after harnessing the Jews. They began to suspect that this was God's punishment for the growing corruption of the church.
However, the Venetians, who often traveled around the world for business, knew that the Black Death was not God's sin. Therefore, they have a more practical attitude to face this plague.
When the plague claimed the life of Giovanni Mossenig, the governor of Venice, in 1485, the Venetian Senate decided to banish all those who showed symptoms of the plague to an island near Venice for 40 days. If they survive this time, it proves that they have not contracted the disease or recovered from it.
Of course, if a person is originally healthy, the chances of him contracting the disease within 40 days of being held on the island are extremely high, so not many people will be able to return safely from the island. (jumping), although the lockdown of Wuhan is a very good method for people outside, but for healthy people in the city, isn't it the same as healthy people being thrown on an island? ）
Therefore, the English "Quarantine" of today's "quarantine" comes from the Quaranta Giorni policy of Venice at that time. The "Black Death" usually takes only 37 days from infection to death, so the policy has a good result.
After discovering that this method worked, Venice found a larger island and built dormitories, warehouses, and cargo docks on it. From here, merchant ships that come to Venice spend 40 days on the island before entering Venice.
However, guests will be divided into three categories: healthy, suspected disease, and even confirmed illness, and then stay separately to avoid cross-infection. Those who are still alive after 40 days can enter Venice with their goods.
The Black Death caused so many deaths, of course, because medical care was not developed enough, and information was not flowing enough. Therefore, prevention can only rely on the trick of partitioning. However, the biggest challenge facing epidemic prevention now is the development of transportation. In a matter of hours, you can bring germs to the other side of the world.
In addition, today's world population expansion has led to dense living conditions, and if there is another plague explosion as severe as the Black Death, the number of dead is unimaginable!
Postscript:
In the era of the Black Death, a new profession was created: the Plague Doctor. They wear masks resembling bird heads and put incense items in the birdsong to protect doctors from the virus.
And the shape of this bird-headed human body can now also be seen in many Japanese manga and games. Of course, wearing a mask can achieve the same, or even better, protection, but it cannot create such a unique scene.
Plague doctor
#Black Death##Europe##Venice##Plague Legends##Virus##中世纪 #