7th Grade Research 2014

The Great Plague, also known as the Black Death or bubonic plague, is the topic of discussion in this report. More terrible than the previous outbreaks of plague in London, the Great Plague started in the poorest areas of London and this report provides you with the details on how it was transmitted and spread. Information on the treatment of plague victims demonstrates the misinformation about the plague that existed during the seventeenth century. The symptoms of the plague are described is provided along with excerpts from the diary of Samuel Pepys.

Sixty percent of Europe's population died in the Black Death, a spread of bubonic plague in the mid-14th century. Deep pits were dug at all the church cemeteries, and each held many bodies with a layer of dirt added each day. Letters and chronicles tell of the personal tragedies of those who buried spouses or children. The disease was spread by rats that lived in houses and on ships. Infected fleas bit humans after the rats in a colony died. In a few days, victims fell ill. In a few more, 80% of them died. Investigate the spread.

Western Africa has long been regarded as the home of yellow fever, although the first recorded outbreaks of the disease were in central and coastal South America after the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. For the next 300 years, yellow fever, given various names such as Yellow Jack and “the saffron scourge,” was one of the great plagues of the New World. The tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas were subjected to devastating epidemics, and serious outbreaks occurred as far north as Philadelphia, New York, and Boston but also as far away from the endemic centres as Spain, France, England, and Italy.

The mask had glass openings for the eyes and a curved beak shaped like that of a bird. Straps held the beak in front of the doctor's nose.[4] The mask had two small nose holes and was a type of respirator which contained aromatic items. [5] The beak could hold dried flowers (including roses and carnations), herbs (including mint), spices, camphor or a vinegar sponge.[6][7] The purpose of the mask was to keep away bad smells, which were thought to be the principal cause of the disease in the miasma theory of infection, before it was disproved by germ theory.[3][4] Doctors believed the herbs would counter the "evil" smells of the plague and prevent them from becoming infecte

The beak doctor costume worn by plague doctors had a wide brimmed leather hood to indicate their profession.[3][8] They used wooden canes to point out areas needing attention and to examine patients without touching them.[9] The canes were also used to keep people away,[10] to remove clothing from plague victims without having to touch them, and to take a patient's pulse.[3][11]

that diseases are caused by microorganisms.

Building on this new understanding of disease, scientists and physicians achieved incredible successes, identifying fifty causative agents of diseases ranging from typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera, plague and malaria between 1880 and 1920.