What Was The Plague?

What Was The Plague?

The plague was a terrible disease which caused an epidemic in the thirteen hundreds.  Over a hundred million people died, at least a third of the population of Europe.  The affliction is transmitted in fleas on the back of black rats.  When the flea bites someone it conveys the Yersinia pestis bacterium. The person develops the plague with temperature, cough, rotors and buboes. These are inflamed lymph nodes which turn black and ulcerated through the skin.

Death rate is 100% without treatment. Antibiotics are effective but the medication wasn't available at the time. This is what causes the incredible mortality rate and the huge impact on the world population.

Graciously the plague isn't a problem any more because of modern treatment. Unfortunately no solution has been found to the ongoing problem of rats damaging property.  Millions of pounds worth of damage are caused every year. This is despite all the pest control measures available to mankind.  Luckily Hammer Technologies have been beavering away and have come up with a product. Their rodent-repellent flooring will protect you from financial ruin.  It is useful for keeping rats away from areas which are difficult to rat-proof such as large factories and barns.  It works by creating a safe area around that which you want to protect.

The Plague

The Plague

The plague was a terrible disease which killed between 75 and 200 million people in the 14th century.  It was spread by fleas carried on the backs of black rats and originated in the arid flatlands of central Asia.  It traveled west along the trade routes and Silk Road. Rats love to stowaway in ships and food containers.  It entered the market town of Caffa when the Mongols put the walled city under siege.  They catapulted the bodies of their dead over the walls. This infected the inhabitants and helping them to take control of the area.

Many of the inhabitants fled north into Europe, taking the disease with them and spreading it into Europe.  The death rate was 100% before the advent of modern antibiotics which successfully treat the disease.

In the medieval times many believed that the affliction was sent by god as a punishment for their sins. People would attempt to protect themselves from the disease by whipping themselves.  Once infected they would often tie live toads and chickens to their inflamed groins to help their buboes to burst. They believed this would help to cure them of the disease.

Nowadays the the threat of the plague has passed but we do need to protect our property from rats chewing it and breaking it.  They destroy car wiring, food stock and other expensive and valuable materials and possessions.

How Many People Died During The Black Death?

How Many People Died During The Black Death?

The Black Death is the name given to a plague pandemic which occurred during the fourteenth century.  Records at the time were scant and unreliable. Nobody knows for sure how many people died. It has been calculated that in Europe alone somewhere between 75 and 200 million people died as a result of the disease.

There are several reasons for the high death rate;

• 100% death rate.  Once infected with the Yersinia pestis bacterium the victim was going to die.  

• Poor living conditions.  People at the time lived in cramped conditions with many people crammed into single rooms. There were often several people in one bed and poor hygiene.  They often didn't wash at all and didn't change their clothes; ideal conditions for fleas and bacteria to multiply and spread.

• Poor knowledge of disease transmission.  At the time no-one had any idea of how the disease was spread.  If people were aware of the fact that the disease was spread by fleas from rats they could have taken steps to avoid being bitten.

Thankfully we no longer need to worry about rats spreading the plague. With the advent of modern antibiotics but we do need to worry about rats destroying our possessions.  This new device will help; rat-repellent flooring for garages and factories.

The Plague

The Plague

The plague was a devastating disease. It reduced the population of Europe by more than a third in the fourteenth century. This occurred in a particularly severe pandemic known as 'The Black Death'.  The mortality rate is 100% once you are infected by the Yersinia pestis bacteria.  Thankfully it is now treated by modern antibiotics.

Sufferers at the time were desperate and would try anything to try to get rid of the terrible disease.  'Buboes' are the cardinal sign of Bubonic plague. These are swollen glands in the groin (inguinal lymph nodes).  People considered that when they burst through the skin the badness would escape. They would take measures to encourage the rupture. These include but are not limited to, tying live chickens and toads to the affected part of the body.

The heat generated in the area may well have encouraged the nodes to rupture. Surprisingly enough there are compounds on a chickens feather which have since been shown to by active against the disease process

The disease was spread by fleas on the backs of black rats.  Nowadays we are more concerned about rats destroying our possessions than giving us the plague.  This fascinating new device should really help in the battle to stop them chewing the wires in cars and expensive equipment.

How Was The Plague Spread By Rats?

How Was The Plague Spread By Rats?

The plague is a deadly disease caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria carried in fleas on the back of black rats.  In the fourteenth century more than a third of the population of Europe was wiped out by an epidemic.  The death rate is 100% without antibiotics, which didn't exist in those times.

But how did it happen?

The disease originated in the dry flat-lands of Central Asia where it traveled along the Silk Road to Europe on rats.  It entered Caffa when besieging Mongols hurled their dead over the walls in order to infect the Caffans.  The inhabitants fled, taking the disease North with them spreading it further into Europe.

Nowadays the plague is thankfully rare.  It is, however, common for rats to chew the wires on expensive cars, computers and industrial machinery.  Their teeth grow continuously throughout their lives and need to be constantly worn down.  The boffins over at Hammer Technologies have been toiling away to stop this happening. They have come up with a new type of flooring which will put paid to those naughty rodents once and for all.  It uses brand-new patent-pending technology to keep the rats away. It keeps your belongings safe from those sharp little teeth.