In 1347 A.D., a great plague swept over Europe and ravaged cities, causing widespread hysteria and death. One third of the population of Europe died. “The impact upon the future of England was greater than upon any other European country” (Cartwright, 1991). The primary culprits in transmitting this disease were oriental rat fleas carried on the back of black rats.
The Black Death: Home
Updated for 2023
The Black Death was one of the worst natural disasters in history.
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The Black Death
The Culprit: Oriental Rat Flea
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Siphonaptera
Family: Pulicidae
Genus and Species: Xenopsylla cheopis
According to Orkin, these cities consistently rank as having the worst rat problems:
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Portland, Oregon
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Miami, Florida
- San Diego, California
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Houston, Texas
- Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Seattle, Washington
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Denver, Colorado
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Detroit, Michigan
- San Francisco, California
- Washington, DC
- New York City, New York
- Los Angeles, California
- Chicago, Illinois
Sources:
Frederick F. Cartwright, Disease and History, Dorset Press, New York, 1991, p. 42.
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