Gerbils paint a new picture to the history of ‘Black Deaths’
Though plague is considered to be died out today, its waves have still continued to flow across various societies across the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) said there were nearly 800 cases reported world-wide in 2013, including 126 deaths. This dreadful disease has taken away millions and millions of lives from the 14th century till today.
A group of researchers started studying the history of plague from the grass root level and found the black rats may not have been to blame for the numerous outbreaks of the bubonic plague across Europe. However, the gerbil breeding from Asia was found to be the main cause for such dreadful incidents.
The Black Death, which originated in Asia, arrived in Europe in 1347 and caused one of the deadliest outbreaks in human history. Over the next 400 years, epidemics broke out again and again, killing millions of people. Prof. Stenseth, one of the members of the research team, found out by studying the weather spectrum that, the conditions that prevailed in Asia may have caused the plague carrying rodent- the giant gerbil- to thrive, which later made its way into the territories of Europe eliminating a large part of human society.
"We show that wherever there were good conditions for gerbils and fleas in central Asia, some years later the bacteria shows up in harbour cities in Europe and then spreads across the continent," Prof Stenseth said. He said that a wet spring followed by a warm summer would cause gerbil numbers to boom.
In the height of the trade that took place between the East and the West, these life taking species got their way in various territories, which was supplemented by suitable weather conditions.
However, the team is furthering their study to look into the hidden history, by studying the skeletons affected by the disease, in the territories of Europe and Central Asia.
