Good
morrow, my name is Yersinia pestis. Thou most probably
know me as the Black Death or the Plague.
I am the proud holder of the title of one of the deadliest ever killers in human history. At my greatest point during the 14th century, I murdered between one third and two thirds of Europe's population. Some say that my most auspicious name originated from the blackening of my victims’ skin due to subepidermal haemorrhages and gangrene in their extremities. Back in the day, my good friend, Rattus rattus, or the common rat, helped me spread throughout cities, carried by fleas. So feared was I, they even composed a nursery rhyme in my honour - Ring around the rosie!
Working fast, I kill unfortunates within 7 days, covering their skin in unattractive dark blotches in the process. The bubonic plague form of my disease kills between 30 and 75% of those infected, while Pneumonic plague and Septicaemic plague kills nearly everyone who gets these versions of the disease.
Annoyingly for me, it is pretty rare for modern humans to catch
the plague. Mean people have used me as a biological weapon in
the past, chucking contaminated animal corpses into the water
supplies of the enemies. After World War II, both the US and Soviet
Union developed ways to spread me. However, there isn’t
too much to worry about in the Western World these days, as I
can be treated with antibiotics.
