PLAGUEA SHORT SNAPSHOT

THROUGH TIME

PLAGUE IS ALIVE AND KICKING We usually associate Plague with the

“Black Death” which killed 1/3 of the population of Europe between 1347 and 1350. However the history of this disease spans countless civilisations and still affects the contemporary world.

The map opposite shows the distribution of Plague between 1970 and 1998.

Do any of the affected locations surprise you? Why?

BILL OF MORTALITY From the 14th century onwards

the English kept accurate records on the causes of death throughout the country in published “Bills of Mortality”.

The example opposite is from London towards the end of 1665, the year of the last great Plague outbreak in England.

What aspect of this document demonstrates 17th century fear of the Plague?

Diseases and casualties this year. This excerpt from the document lists

all of the causes of death to that date.

Classify all the causes of death listed into a table according to the following categories (note that spelling can be significantly different from modern conventions):

Infectious disease Non-infectious disease Trauma Unknown meaning

Bubonic plague in Hawthorne Street, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Queensland, 1900

Timber residences in Hawthorne Street, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Queensland, where the first case of Bubonic Plague occurred in Brisbane. The house on the left of the photograph was occupied by James Drevesen, the first patient. Drevesen was a van driver employed to remove goods from the wharves where dead and plague-infected rats were found. The disease continued to appear in isolated cases in Brisbane until 1910. Twenty five deaths were recorded from fifty-six reported cases of the disease.

What modern disease do we (or should we) fear in Brisbane now?

HISTORY OF A NAME Etymology is the study of words A simple examination of the

scientific terms for the most common varieties of plague reveals a great deal about the heritage of this disease.

Look at the scientific terms for the Plague opposite. Using the names of the various strains of Plague place the disease in time and place through history.

Plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. Its three varients are called: Antiqua; Orientalis, and; Mediavalis.