Rats May Not Be to Blame for Spreading the 'Black Death'
Jan 22, 2018 10:37:15 GMT
Elizabeth and Brommando like this
Post by Lone Wanderer on Jan 22, 2018 10:37:15 GMT
Rats get a bad rap for spreading the plague, or Black Death, that killed millions of people in medieval Europe. But they may not be to blame.
Source: Rats May Not Be to Blame for Spreading the 'Black Death'
"Overall, our results suggest that plague transmission in European epidemics occurred predominantly through human [parasites], rather than commensal rat or pneumonic transmission," the researchers wrote in their paper.
The researchers noted that their models could be improved with more data. For example, the models in the current study did not account for local conditions that could have affected disease transmission, such as war, famine, immunity and public health interventions, they said.
"Plague is undeniably a disease of significant scientific, historic and public interest, and is still present in many parts of the world today," the researchers said. "It is therefore crucial that we understand the full spectrum of capabilities that this versatile, pandemic disease has exhibited in the past," they concluded.
Source: Rats May Not Be to Blame for Spreading the 'Black Death'
"Overall, our results suggest that plague transmission in European epidemics occurred predominantly through human [parasites], rather than commensal rat or pneumonic transmission," the researchers wrote in their paper.
The researchers noted that their models could be improved with more data. For example, the models in the current study did not account for local conditions that could have affected disease transmission, such as war, famine, immunity and public health interventions, they said.
"Plague is undeniably a disease of significant scientific, historic and public interest, and is still present in many parts of the world today," the researchers said. "It is therefore crucial that we understand the full spectrum of capabilities that this versatile, pandemic disease has exhibited in the past," they concluded.
