[wimpycat]

I am a little curious what they think could be the Black Death, if it wasn't bubonic plague.

I've got a book called "Diseases and History", a very interesting read, that suggests that the Black Death was actually two diseases working at once: the Bubonic plague, which is spread by rats, and Pneumonic Plague, which is spread by airborne droplets and was highly,highly contagious, which would correspond to the theory in this article, that "the researchers believe that the Black Death was transmitted through person-to-person contact, as are measles and smallpox.

The book I own is fairly old, so I don't know why the researchers in the article do not address Pneumonic Plague at all.

[mewzilla]

Yup, that makes a lot more sense.

[mewzilla]

Probably because they neglected to talk to anyone with actual infectious disease experience?

[Black Agnes]

Actually, both bubonic and pneumonic are the same organism, y. pestis. In the case of pneumonic, the patient has bubonic and some respiratory disease simultaneously, causing the cough droplets to be infected with y. pestis as well. The deadliest and most scary form of the disease is actually septicaemic plague. In that form, it infects the blood stream and few or no 'buboes' form. This was the form it took in patients who went to sleep healthy and never woke up.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I've got a book called "Diseases and History", a very interesting read, that suggests that the Black Death was actually two diseases working at once: the Bubonic plague, which is spread by rats, and Pneumonic Plague, which is spread by airborne droplets and was highly,highly contagious, which would correspond to the theory in this article, that "the researchers believe that the Black Death was transmitted through person-to-person contact, as are measles and smallpox.

I have read the same thing several times throughout the years, and I agree with you.

I wonder how much these guys and guyettes are being paid for their "research."