How Rats and Fleas Spread the Black Death

Today, I've learnt how the black death was easily passed on from one human to another. It's not also because of their poor hygiene back in medieval times. It's also because of rats and fleas. 

It's important that we have the knowledge to still look back to what happened in the past so we are alert of what we should do at times like these. 

This is the table that holds information about rats and fleas 

Rats in General	Black Rats	Brown Rats	Fleas
Are heavy breeders Two most common types are the black rat and brown rat Can feed on almost everything edible Tend to stay near people Weighs up to 450 grams Fleas are very infectious	Are also called roof and climbing rats Weigh about 200 grams Rodent, Rattus	Poison, gas, traps are ways of killing them Also called sewer or wharf rats Dig and burrow and are good swimmers Commonly found in cities, especially in seaports, in upper storeys of houses and buildings  Can go without food for several months if necessary	Lay eggs in the hair of animals, in dirt and rubbish Jump as much as 200 times their body length Feed on the blood of a host Will often move from one host to another Fleas are less infectious Do not rely so much on people

I have made a diagram which visualises the cycle of the disease

Explanation - The plague which is the black death was easily spread due to the bacteria that the rat has in their blood. Fleas find a rat to be its host so when it bites the rat, it then infects the blood of a rat. When a flea bites a human, it passes the bacteria that caused the disease.

The bacteria target the lungs of the human and the human will cough out blood, if the infected human coughs on you, it passes on to you and you'll be likely dying by the end of the week.

Resources: https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/coroners-report-plague-video