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It
seems amazing to think of it now. But rats and fleas were so common in
the filthy cities of medieval Europe that people saw no connection between
them and the deadly plague that was coming on them. Rats carried fleas
from one country to another, usually on board ships as stowaways in search
of the "free" food transported between ports.
And sometimes the fleas carried the bubonic plague, passing it on to
the people in the homes they visited.
Millions of people died. Between one third and one half of all the people
in the affected areas died. In some places, it's estimated that as many
as 90 percent of the people perished.
The plague was to last over 300 years, repeatedly coming back in waves to kill more people. People didn't realize that simple changes to their lifestyles would have saved them.
They were living in filth and squalor--in cities that were overcrowded. Their houses were close together. They threw their garbage out of the window and left it to rot in the narrow streets below. The same narrow paths between houses were used as latrines, and the stench was so familiar that city dwellers had no idea what fresh air smelled like.
Then the rats came with the infected fleas on their backs. They only stayed long enough to eat all that was available, before moving on to the next town and further victims of the plague.
People had no idea what hit them. It came suddenly and ended just as quickly, leaving perhaps half the members of each family to die gruesome, agonizing deaths. Those left alive were too frightened to bury their relatives, afraid to go near them in case they might catch whatever they had.
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