[SoCal Pubbie]

IFRC, the book discussed social conditions at the time, in which large herds of livestock was kept in city pens to meet the growing needs for beef in the urban areas. The crowding of cows and of course the lack of knowledge of the time created a perfect breeding ground for anthrax. I'm pretty sure there was some discussion of anthrax elsewhere, but perhaps that was simply transmission with the ultimate destination of England.

I believe there were also symptoms that do not fit bubonic plague but match closely other ailments like anthrax.

[Burkeman1]

The book "In the Wake of the Plague" mentions that England had a climate at the time that was particularly conducive towards an Anthrax epidemic starting up.