Spatiotemporal distribution of 6929 documented plague outbreaks that occurred during 1347–1900
To the Editor – Introduction
Outbreaks of bubonic plague initiated by the flea-borne bacte- rium Yersinia pestis have repeatedly af- flicted the Old World since the onset of the ‘Justinian Plague’ in 541 AD [1]. The second European pandemic, the ‘Black Death’ rapidly killed around half of the population during 1347–1353 AD. Both pandemics then persisted with recurrent local outbreaks over several centuries. The reason for the eventual cessation of each pandemic remains mysterious [1], particularly in light of continued activity in Asia [2] where the infection is enzootic in its natural rodent hosts [3]. Socio-polit- ical influences have often compounded the complexity of plague ecology, likely increasing the spillover of infection into human populations [1–3].
In: , Dec 1, 2012