Beginning in the 14th century, a plague pandemic engulfed Europe and the rest of the world, killing some 25 million people and occurring several times since, afflicting Europe for four centuries.
Unexpectedly, an earthquake in India in the 18th century led to a surge in the number of rats in the area and eventual migration to Europe. It was these rats from Asia that put an end to the plague pandemic in Europe.
Let's take a look at the story of the End of the Plague in Europe by the Asian Rats!
Emmm ~~ The original text is a translation of the Italian version of "Scientific American", the space-time coordinates are a bit complicated, the writing is also more jumpy, and Xiao Kejun has made some adjustments. All in all, the article was unexpected.
Impatient pro, you can read back from the end of the text Ha ~
001.
Astrakhan, 1727
Astrakhan on the Volga River.
In the city of Astrakhan, the dusty streets are packed with wagons and ox carts pulling goods, and camels are staggering with their cargoes.
Russian, Hindi, Arabic, Turkish, Chinese, Mongolian, English, Dutch and Italian are heard from time to time.
In the air, the smell of feces, animal and human sweat, mixed with the smells of spices, freshly tanned leather, fermented cheese, cured meats, wine, perfumes and fragrant wood.
In the distance, in the direction of the river, the sound was gradually drowned out by the roar of hammers, axes and saws in the shipyard of Tsar Peter the Great. Astrakhan, the last major city through which the Volga River flows, is the gateway from Persia and India to Russia and Europe.
Caravans from the East arrived at the pier with raw silk, spices, rice, dried fruit, coffee, wine, saffron, sulfur, as well as fuel oil, gold, silver and pearls.
Trucks from the West unload soaps, sugar, needles, velvet, glassware, mirrors, corn, butter, cheese, sausages, wine, cognacs, furniture, clocks and clocks from the European sailing ships passing through the Dardanelles, before leaving from the Crimean port on the Black Sea...
It was the summer of 1727, an ordinary day in Astrakhan.
002.
"Smuggled" Asian rats to Europe
At night, when the bustling crowd receded and the trucks and cargo ships left, huge "gray patches" occupied the entire volga river surface.
The patches are hundreds of meters wide and sway with the waves. They are the millions of rats that are huddled together and are making a frenzy.
The target of the rat is 500 meters away on the other side of the river. Upon reaching the west bank of the river belonging to Europe, the rats disappeared immediately, just as they had quietly appeared on the east bank of the river belonging to Asia.
This peculiar phenomenon, which occurred in 1727, was observed and documented by the inhabitants of the city of Astrakhan, as well as by Historians of Russia.
Rats were found to have waded through the Volga, across the Dnieper (the second largest river in eastern Europe), across the Bug (the boundary between Ukraine, Belarus and Poland) and Transnistria (flowing through Ukraine and Moldova). In winter, one can even see rats trotting along icy rivers.
Where did the rats come from?
This goes back to the Great Indian Earthquake a few years ago. In the hours leading up to the earthquake, local rats felt the gas rising from the ground, and they escaped from the crypts and ran into the open. Humans were not so lucky, and the ruins buried not only food, but also many human corpses.
The abundance of food sources led to a surge in rat populations, followed by large-scale migrations.
What no one expected was that it was this rodent migration of 1727 that ended the plague that had plagued the Old Continent for four centuries.
003.
The terrible plague of Europe
In the mid-14th century, the plague known as the "Black Death" swept across Europe, claiming the lives of 25 million Europeans and occurring several times since.
Plague is caused by a bacterium called Y. pestis. These bacteria parasitize fleas and are transmitted through animals such as black rats.
In response to the plague, quarantine measures were also taken in Europe at that time. In 1374, in response to regular recurrent outbreaks in various ports, Venice began to refuse the berthing of "suspicious" ships.
In 1377, the Fifth Maritime Republic established the first infectious disease hospitals. All crew members and passengers, even if in good health, must stay on the hospital island in front of these ports for 1 month.
This precaution showed its effect and was adopted by all ports in the Mediterranean within a few years (the stay period later became 40 days, since according to medical theory at the time, plague could show signs within 40 days).
So, how bad is the plague in Europe?
Take, for example, the last outbreak of plague in Europe, which occurred in 1720 and lasted for two years. The cause of the outbreak was that the rules of quarantine at ports were broken.
On May 25, 1720, a merchant ship from Syria, the Grand Saint-Antoine, arrived in Marseille (France's largest seaport), and although eight sailors had died on the voyage, the shipowner requested an exception on the grounds that the precious cloth loaded on board could not be traded after 40 days.
Ten days later, the Grand Saint Antoine made an exception. At the same time, plague and cloth also landed.
Rats ashore via cables, as well as fleas on cloth and rats, brought germs ashore. It is credible to speculate that some healthy carriers or sailors who have just been infected and have not yet shown symptoms also go directly to the local tavern.
The plague caused Marseille to lose 40,000 inhabitants in two years, and 120,000 people died in the entire southern part of France, more than 1/3 of the total population of the region.
Painting by the French painter Jacques Rigo
Describes the plague that struck Marseille in 1720
Also because of the failure to comply with the quarantine period, in 1743, a severe plague also occurred in Messina, Sicily, Italy.
On March 20, 1743, a Genoese merchant ship carrying grain and cloth (ideal habitat for rats and fleas) headed to Messina. Although a sailor had already died on board, the merchant ship was granted permission to anchor and disembark its crew.
The captain claimed that the sailor's death was due to trauma, evidenced by a number of slightly black spots on the deceased's body. Over the next few days, other sailors and captains also appeared the same spot and died. The lie was punctured, but it was too late. In just a few months, 70% of Messina's residents died, totaling about 25,000.
004.
Eastern rats that exterminated the Plague of the West
Let's go back to 1727, on the banks of the Volga.
In the summer of 1727, the rats that crossed the Volga to Asdarahan, the brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), managed to reach the European continent (in fact, they may not have been the first brown rats to migrate from Asia to Europe).
Like rattus rattus, the protagonist of the Plague in Europe, brown rats can be infected with both Y. pestis and hosts for Y. pestis.
The difference is that fleas parasitize these two types of mice. Fleas parasitic on black rats are called Indian rat fleas, and fleas parasitized on brown rats are called "horned leaf fleas". Horned leaf fleas are more "loyal" to their hosts and are not interested in humans.
At the same time, compared to the black rat, the brown rat is stronger, witty, aggressive, and cooperative. They are able to swim skillfully and especially prefer to live in hot and humid environments.
In contrast, black rats prefer to stay in dry environments, such as rooftops or barns. But from the 18th century onwards, the Environment in Europe became humid and hot, which provided the brown house rat with the opportunity to breed in large numbers.
The emergence of brown rats in European countries is also associated with the sewer systems of these countries. The sewer system in Paris began construction in 1374 and was completed in the 18th century. Later, other large European cities also began to build underground sewerage systems.
It was also during the same period that the first brown rats began to appear in these cities. In 1730, the brown rat was first found in England. France is 1735, Germany is 1740, and Spain is 1800.
The number of brown rats has multiplied – in fact, they are also one of the most successful species after humans. Brown rats flock to the territory of black rats, steal their food, and gain the upper hand in the survival battle between rats.
Although brown rats can be infected by Y. pestis, they are also hosts for Y. pestis. However, the horned leaf fleas that parasitize the brown rat rarely transmit the infection in its mouthparts from the host to humans, so that the plague bacillus is confined to the brown rat population.
Thus, the flea-based Plague pandemic in Europe came to an end.
005.
Rats and fleas
In 1914, a paper published in the London Journal of Health confirmed for the first time that parasitic fleas on brown rats had a low chance of transmitting plague to humans.
Professor C. Strickland, a lecturer in biology at the University of Cambridge, studied the fleas from 1909 to 1913 and submitted a 13-page report in early 1914.
Professor Strickland showed us the characteristics of the horned leaf flea that parasitizes the brown rat:
The growth cycle of horned leaf fleas is 84 days. It is about 2 mm long and can jump up to 9 cm tall (45 times its body length) when it is full and 12 cm tall (60 times its body length) when it is not sucking blood. Without any food, the fleas can survive up to 1 month.
The experiment also studied the relationship between horned leaf fleas and mice, rabbits, and humans. Observations show that the horned leaf flea is indeed "loyal" to its host, the brown house mouse, and in other hosts, it will die after a few months and will not reproduce.
Why?
The secret is that male horned leaf fleas only begin to look for females after sucking the blood of rats (brown rats), who can lay about 400 eggs in 24 hours after conception.
In the professor's words: It is clear that only the blood of rats contains substances that activate the reproductive organs of male and female horned leaf fleas. That is to say, the continuation of the species of rat diagonal leaf flea is indispensable.
belch... After reading it, did you scratch an itch
Then, with a sigh of delight...
Fortunately, we have human blood
Not enough to activate the fertility of male and female horned leaf fleas
EDIT: Gold
Image: From the web
This article is edited from: Global Science, Scientific Research Circle
Popular Science Suzhou
ID: kepusuzhou