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Article: Forgotten, but not gone. (bubonic plague)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 3, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Bubonic plague
Forgotten, but not gone
THE Black Death is, to put it mildly, a nasty disease. It was given its name in the Middle Ages because it changed the colour of its victims' skin, as well as making their lymph nodes swell and causing large growths (or "buboes") usually in the groin, neck or armpit. Left untreated, it kills about six victims out of ten. And the plague itself is far from dead.
After its first recorded appearance in 547, it hung around for about 200 years and killed perhaps 100m people. It returned for a second world tour in 1347, this time spreading to Europe, India and China from its origin in central Asia. The second ...