[Tax-chick]

I'm currently (though not at this moment) watching a Great Courses series on the Black Death. One point that's been brought up both in the course and in my reading is that, although we're pretty darn sure that Yersinia pestis is "Bubonic Plague," we're not nearly as sure that there weren't other causes of death kicking around at the same time.

Also, the lecturer wears very slimming outfits, which I will copy if I'm invited to appear on "Jeopardy!".

[Equine1952]

Well if rats carry the fleas carrying the plague. LA and Baltimore are off my vacation list. Don’t need no “Ring Around The Rosey” .

[SunkenCiv]

It was in vogue a few years back to deny Y. Pestis as the cause of The Plague, but DNA research has taken a chain saw to that silly notion. But yeah, there are always different causes of death, and most of them have come and gone a few times, due to non-human reservoirs. Smallpox emerged perhaps no more than 3K years ago, and has no known non-human host -- the eradication program worldwide has worked -- the CDC says no cases since 1980. The Egyptian 18th Dynasty pharaohs' mummified remains have survived for the most part, and the non-invasive study (CAT scans and whatev') have shown the lesions on at least two of them.

[lizma2]

Read years ago that during the time of the Black Death there was an colder than normal period bringing the rats in closer to humans.

Thank God we have global warming!!!