How Long Did The Bubonic Plague Last (And Why)?

Exact Answer: Eight Years

Certain things in life are unavoidable. One such thing is a disease. A disease or illness can happen to anyone at any time. 

You cannot control it. No matter how much you would want to, but the only solution is finding a cure. If there is no cure for a disease, people eventually die. Such diseases are very well known to exist in our world for a long time now.

From time to time, a new and critical illness can come into our lives and change us for good. Even when we are so advanced in medicine, a new virus can shatter all the foundation of humankind in just days. One such disease that shook the nation was the Bubonic Plague.

How Long Did The Bubonic Plague Last?

Today we have cures for many severe diseases, and even then, we find ourselves unaware of many viruses and illnesses that are yet to attack us. Back in the day, even the simple flu could cause deaths. In 1346, Africa and Eurasia were struck by despair as a wave of Bubonic Pague hit the world hard. The Bubonic Plague lasted for eight years.

It caused a lot of havoc in all terms. It indeed changed the way we look at the world now. It had a record-breaking death toll. Over 200 million people lost their lives in this pandemic. That is the reason why it is also known as The Black Death. It is the deadliest plague in the world to happen to date.

It was, in fact, a known thing that the Bubonic Plague started in either Central Asia or Eastern Asia. It then reached Africa gradually via the Mediterranean Sea. It was infecting so many people at an alarming rate that it was difficult to understand the cause of the Bubonic plague and how to cure people. The fleas and the rats were the actual reason the Bubonic Plague spread to such an extent.

In some countries, it lasted more compared to other countries. The reason it broke out in some countries after months was due to the transmission. The plague took a little time to get transmitted from one continent to the other.

Why Did The Bubonic Plague Last So Long?

When a relatively new and severe disease starts spreading, the situation is hard to control. Since there is a lot of research and testing involved so that an epidemic could get seized. But in addition to research, it is also necessary to keep control over the mortality rate. Since both things require immediate attention, it becomes hard not to succumb to them.

An epidemic spreads faster, which means if you try to stop it on one end, it starts from another. That leads to a never-ending cycle of trying to put an end to the disease from spreading further. Something similar happened while there was an outbreak of Bubonic Plague.

There were some other reasons as well concerning why the Bubonic Plague lasted so long:

• The Bubonic plague was not contagious. However, the number of patients kept multiplying at a high rate. Since it was getting transmitted via fleas and infected rodents, it was becoming quite hard to put an end to it. 
• It was very new to every person, that is why it took a lot of time to understand what was causing it. Since the source was fleas and rodents, it took time for researchers to reach the actual cause.
• The technology was not that advanced at that time. Also, it took a lot of time to find what could prevent the plague or what could cure it. Hence it took a long time to get rid of the Bubonic plague completely.

Conclusion

It was a hard time fighting the Bubonic plague when finding a cure was not quick as today. It took time but, eventually, after years of struggle, we managed to be free from the Bubonic plague once and for all.

It was a devastating epidemic that took the lives of millions of people across the world. People all over the world still remember the tragic time famously known as the Black Death.

References

1. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=bubonic+plague+history&oq=bubonic+plague#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DBXpNdmI6O3MJ
2. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_vis=1&q=bubonic+plague+history&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DCbvXZZouTtE