Many chain plagues related to the Justinian plague, like the 1920 Bubonic plague, have hit the globe in recent times since the Justinian plague, 541-767. Fighting on both the Western and Eastern frontiers reduced when the first case of the bubonic plague was reported in 541. The plague sickened many people, including Justinian himself. People who suffered from the plague exhibited characteristic illnesses related to septicemia and buboes (Frith, n.d.). Also called the Justinian plague, the pandemic, the first outbreak was recorded in Ethiopia, and it spread to Pelusiam in Egypt by 1540. The spread extended west to Alexandria, followed by an eastern diversion to Gaza, Antioch, and Jerusalem, where voyagers were carried on ships on both sides of the Mediterranean's sea trading routes until it arrived in Constantinople, currently known as Istanbul, on December 13, 541 (Curtis & Hansen, 2016). According to Procopius of Caeserea, the Byzantine court historian, victims of the plague showed fever buboes and delirium symptoms. He also stated that the human race close to being exterminated by the epidemic. There are no exact figures that can be reliably used to quote the number of lives claimed, but during the Justinian reign, it is approximated that a total of 19 million individuals out of 26 million subjects survived. The plague existed for a long time until 767, when the last infection case was recorded. This indicates that the plague was deadly because it was not until it ended that the economy was revived through trade. After the first long-running wave was over in the medieval period, no lasting solution was arrived at. Due to the lack of advanced medical research, no vaccine was created to protect humans from future bubonic plague occurrences. Consequently, the globe witnessed new waves of the disease in 1920, during the most recent one in the 21 st century.
The bubonic plague arrived on Galveston Island in the summer of 1920. This infectious disease that had challenged scientists in the Texas port city a century ago and claimed the lives of many Europeans struck fear among the Islands residents (McAshan, 2020). The disease was so dreary that the professionals from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, who helped address the epidemiology, are being recalled in the centennial year. The carrier of the plague was rats, as it was even in the medieval outbreak. Other port cities like San Francisco, Seattle were also dealing with the plague after the rats that hitchhiked on the ships, infected humans. The plague was further spread by infected fleas, which transmitted it to livestock in the port cities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the symptoms often presented as flu initially, and the cases were rare, but the causative bacteria, Yersinia pestis, existed in cycles between fleas and rodents. The plague could be transmitted by coming into contact with contaminated body tissue or fluid, cough droplets, and flea bites. The plague did not cause much devastation in Galveston since out of 18 infected individuals, only 12 died, and the 67 plague-infected rats were identified and poisoned.
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Surprisingly the plague also appeared in the first decade of the 21 st century. The epidemic helped update experts on the transmission during an outbreak, clinical manifestation, antimicrobial treatment, diagnostic testing, and vaccine development (Butler, 2013). The US reported 57 infections, seven of whom died, while the global tally for infections was 21,725 persons, out of which 1,612 lost their lives. Congo had the highest number of reported cases and had two waves of the pneumatic plague outbreak. The plague even claimed the lives of two US scientists who were accidentally exposed. Luckily for this generation, medical research has advanced, and vaccines were created to protect an individual from contracting the plague. A subunit vaccine containing V and F1 antigens was developed and proved to have less fatal side effects. It was thus adopted as a solution to curbing the spread of the plague.
In conclusion, the plague first erupted in the medieval period and has transcended to the 21 st century, with the most recent cases being recorded in the first decade. The plague is transmitted by rodent flea bites causing bubonic pneumatic symptoms in an infected person. It claimed approximately seven million individuals between 541 and 767, but the number of casualties reduced to only 12 out of 18 infections in Galveston Island, where an outbreak occurred in 1920. However, the number of deaths rose again in another outbreak in the first decade of the 21 st century. A total of 1,612 individuals died out of a total number of 21,725 infected persons. Fortunately, a vaccine was developed during this period to curb any further spread or outbreak. This plague has analytically appeared to be recurring over the ages, and hopingly the current vaccine can stop any other outbreak.
References
Butler, T. (2013). Plague gives surprises in the first decade of the 21st century in the United States and worldwide. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene , 89 (4), 788-793.
Frith, J. (0AD). The History of Plague – Part 1. The Three Great Pandemics . https://jmvh.org/article/the-history-of-plague-part-1-the-three-great-pandemics/.
Hansen, V. and R. Curtis, K., 2017. Voyages in World History . 3rd ed. Boston: Cengage Learning, p.Chapter 10.
McAshan, B. R. (2020, February 24). Bubonic plague in Galveston recalled in its centennial year . TMC News. https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/bubonic-plague-in-galveston-recalled-in-its-centennial-year/ .
