WEBVTT - Ep 5 Plague Part 1: The GMOAT 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:07.200 Towards the beginning of spring, the doleful effects of the 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:11.280 pestilence began to be horribly apparent by symptoms. An issue 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:13.520 of blood from the nose was a manifest sign of 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:16.759 inevitable death. But in men and women alike it first 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.560 betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumors in the 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:22.800 groin or armpits, some of which grew as large as 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.960 a common apple. From the two said parts of the body, 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:29.200 it soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions, 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:33.400 after which the form changed, black spots making their appearance 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:36.240 in many cases on the arm, or thigh or elsewhere, 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:41.279 now few and large, then minute and numerous, Almost. 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:42.239 All within three days from the. 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:46.120 Appearance of said symptoms, sooner or later died. Many dropped 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.560 at in the open streets by day and night, whilst 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.239 a great many others, though dying in their own homes, 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.840 drew their neighbour's attention to the fact, more by the 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:56.800 smell of their rotting corpses than by any other means. 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.680 And what with these and the others who were dying 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.080 all over the city, bodies were here, there and everywhere. 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.600 It was not merely a question of one citizen avoiding another. 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:09.840 This scourge had implanted such a great terror in the 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.959 hearts of men and women that brothers abandoned brothers, uncles 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:16.800 their nephews, sisters their brothers, and in many cases, wives 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.959 deserted husbands. But even worse and almost incredible, was the 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:24.320 fact that fathers and mothers refused to nurse and assist 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:47.680 their own children, as though they did not belong to them. 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:51.040 Oh, yeah, that was so hard for me to remain 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:52.400 quiet while you recorded that. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:56.720 Yeah. 0:01:56.760 --> 0:02:01.040 So that is from everyone's favorite plague chronicler, which everyone 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.680 has a favorite play of course, right, yeah, Giovanni Boccaccio, 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:05.279 I think. 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:05.720 That's how you say. 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:07.200 It sounds right, who. 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.000 Was living in Florence during the time of the Black Death? Wow, 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.080 And so he wrote a book called The Decameron based 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:16.000 on what he saw, and that was just one of 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:20.680 the little bits in there, according to other contemporary accounts. 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:21.000 Quite accurate. 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:26.440 Oh my god, So hi everybody, Hi, welcome to episode five. 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:30.040 Yes, oh, this podcast will kill you. Yeah, it really 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.280 will today. Yeah, and you know what we haven't done yet, 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.560 I realized tell me said our last names? Oh my god, 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:38.680 you're right, Yeah, we're always like. 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:40.320 I'm Erin and I'm also Aaron. 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.560 Well it turns out I'm Aaron Welsh. 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.960 And I'm also Aaron Alman Updyke. 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:48.360 So yeah, we wanted to. 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:51.120 I mean, we should have introduced ourselves earlier. 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:51.800 Maybe. 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:53.920 Well, if you've made it this far, it's nice to 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:54.280 meet you. 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:56.080 Yeah, thanks for listening. 0:02:57.080 --> 0:02:59.560 Can I just tell you how excited I am to 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:00.239 talk about. 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:01.919 I know how excited you are. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:03.840 This is the one, this is the disease. 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:08.080 They got me into epidemiology, into disease, ecology, into history. 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:09.200 I'm thrilled. 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:13.280 I just am so excited based on how excited you are, like, 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:17.480 regardless of how much you know, Like, your excitement is 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:21.680 through the roof, and that thrills me. Ya. 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:23.959 And so this week we're going to do something a 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:27.240 little bit different and next week also so because plague 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.720 is such a beast of a topic and has been 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.040 all over the news lately, yeh, we're going to be 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.960 splitting this up into two episodes to give at the 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:35.920 time that it deserves. 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:39.520 Yeah. Yeah, plague is deserving of multiple episodes. 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.560 And this week we'll be focusing on the biology of 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:46.760 plague and then tracing its history up into the twentieth century. Yeah, 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.160 and then next week we'll talk about the impact of 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:51.680 plague in the last one hundred and twenty years or so, 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:53.360 and then fill you in on what's been. 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:54.400 Going on in Madagascar. 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:54.880 Yep. 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:55.720 And don't worry. 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:59.880 Each week we'll be drinking quarantinies. Oh yeah, slightly different ones. 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.120 Speaking of which, what are we drinking this week? 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:08.920 Quarantiny time, Quarantini time, yay. This week we're drinking the 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:12.600 Boobo baby right, Boobo babyda? 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.120 Yeah? And what is in the Bubo Babyda. 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:19.680 It's essentially an extra dry martini. Okay, it's pretty thrilling. 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.440 This is a gin martini. So if you'd like to 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.320 drink along at home, go ahead and mix one and 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.520 three quarters ounces of your favorite gin. My favorite is Hendrix, 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.640 and you mix that with a quarter ounce of Driver 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:36.800 Mooth and then a hefty splash of the juice from 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:38.080 cocktail onions. 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.360 And we're doing cocktail onions because. 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:45.120 They look the most like boobos, which you'll learn all 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:46.719 about and it's disgusting. 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:50.159 But hey, okay, so speaking of boobos, yes. 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:52.839 I want to know about the biology and the symptomology 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:54.960 and all that good stuff about plague. 0:04:55.040 --> 0:05:15.560 I can't wait to tell you. I'm really excited to 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:19.719 talk about plague today because this is our first real 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:24.000 zoonotic disease and vector born and offers vector born disease. 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.840 So that's really exciting for me, and I would guess 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.040 for you too, since weird disease ecologists and so this 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.400 type of disease is what's really exciting to us. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.760 And we also both study vector born. 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.240 Diseases exactly right. If you are not aware, A zoonotic 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:42.600 disease is essentially a disease that generally circulates in animal 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:46.320 populations and often spills over into human populations, and a 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:49.680 vector born disease is a disease such as, for example, malaria, 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:53.000 that is transmitted by an insect, vector in the case 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:59.120 of plague, is transmitted by the humble flea Ugh, I'm 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.320 gonna say some things that actually might make you have 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:04.400 some sympathy for the fleas. No, Lie, I didn't think 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:06.560 it was possible, but as I was reading, I kind 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:07.880 of felt bad for fleas. 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:09.920 I'm going to keep an open mind, keep an open mind, 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:11.160 and wait to be convinced. 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.960 So let's go through the life cycle of plague. So 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:18.120 plague is caused by a bacterium called Yourcinia pestis, which 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:21.320 likely evolved to be a blood borne pathogen quite a 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:23.200 long time ago. And I'm assuming you'll talk a bit 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.119 more about the evolutionary history of this disease. Yeah, cool, 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.680 So we won't get into that now. But what's really 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:32.440 interesting is the life cycle of plague. Here's how it happens. 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:36.560 A flea takes a blood meal from an infected let's 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.200 call it a rat because those are really common, yeah, 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.080 And the amount of bacteria that is in the rat's 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:46.120 blood directly correlates with the percentage of fleas that get infected. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:48.520 Not all fleas are going to get infected, but usually 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:50.839 at least around thirty percent of fleas that are feeding 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.240 on a rat will get infected. And if you think 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:55.160 of a common rat, it's got more than a few 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:55.680 fleas on. 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:57.880 It, right, Yeah, lots and lots and lots. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.440 Exactly, so a good proportion of those fleas end up 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:06.320 getting infected. What happens is your Cinea pestis travels to 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:11.640 the flea's stomach, where it starts multiplying and multiplying and multiplying, 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:14.920 and within three to nine days after taking that infected 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:19.760 blood meal. The bacteria have multiplied so much that they 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:24.880 entirely block the esophagus of the flea. Oh my gosh, 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:26.360 isn't that the craziest thing. 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:27.320 That's disgusting. 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:31.880 So then this poor flea is so hungry it tries 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:35.880 to take another blood meal from another rat, but it 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:40.760 can't because its esophagus is completely blocked, and so gobs 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.480 and gobs of bacteria are blocking the entrance into the stomach. 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.679 As it tries and fails to take a blood meal, 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:53.400 it ends up regurgitating a mixture of blood and bacteria 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:57.920 back into the rat. It's amazing, it's so cool. And 0:07:58.320 --> 0:07:59.920 what's sad, and this is why you should have a 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.240 little bit of empathy for the flea, is that that 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:07.119 block flea will end up dying of starvation and dehydration. 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:09.840 Only after bringing the world to its knees. 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:14.320 Well, you know, it's just one humble flea. But it's 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:18.120 suggested that it has barfed eleven thousand to twenty four 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:22.440 thousand individual basillie into its new host. 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:28.559 Which is insane considering that in some like the infective dose, 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:33.560 the number of bacteria needed to cause it infection is one. 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:36.040 Yeah, incas exactly one it's crazy. 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:39.559 So just one little vomitorious. 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.400 You could infect twenty four thousand rats. In theory, I 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:46.240 guess in the mammalian host, your Sinnia pestis will spread 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:50.319 from the bite wound into the lymph system, the lymphatics 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:52.800 underneath the skin, and then it will travel to the 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.479 lymph nodes where it will replicate and replicate and replicate. 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:00.360 Eventually that infection can then spread to the bloodstream, it 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:03.360 can spread to your liver, your spleen, and other organs. 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.280 And so that is sort of the general life cycle 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.720 until another flea bites you and the cycle begins again. 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:10.680 Isn't that cool? 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:11.720 That's super cool. 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:16.200 It's really fun. So that's generally how the disease circulates 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.480 in its enzootic hosts, which means the host that it 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.440 generally circulates in in the natural environment. 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.520 Okay, so that's basically rodents for the most part. 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.199 For the most part, rodents, and different species of rodents 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:31.280 have different susceptibility to it. But if you think of 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:34.440 I believe its name is Rattus ratus. The common it 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:38.120 is sewer rat, right, black rat, black rat, city rat. 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:41.480 There are some other species of rat that are common 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:42.880 in North America. 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.560 Right, it's the Norway rat for instance. Yeah, bigger and browner. 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:51.000 Oh cool. Yeah, But so most species of rodent have 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.560 at least some susceptibility to it. But whether or not 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:56.560 they're gonna have extreme symptoms and end up dying, like 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:00.439 for example, prairie dogs, or they'll be able to sustain 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:05.120 a mild infection, such as sewer rats. It varies. But 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:09.360 what's really interesting is that over two hundred mammalian species 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:13.960 are known to be naturally infected with plague, naturally infected, 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.640 naturally infected, So rodents are the most important hosts, but 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:20.080 they're by no means the only host. Rodents are likely 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:23.160 the most important in part because they have a very 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.480 short life span a high replacement rate, so they're reproducing 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:29.920 very rapidly, and they have a generally long breeding season. 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:35.640 And additionally, it's likely that this bacterium evolved with these rodents, 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:40.480 and so there is only mild resistance in the majority 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:44.360 of these rodent species, if that makes sense, I think so. 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.080 So these rodents serve to be really good hosts to 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:52.000 maintain infection in a given area, and then other hosts 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:56.840 like for example, cats, can amplify the disease and allow 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:00.000 for it to spread to other victims. 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:04.320 Is that because the proximity of cats to crazy humans 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.160 who have cats, that is certainly no offense to all 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:08.280 of our cat owning. 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:13.760 Listeners like me, for example, That is certainly possible. Yeah, 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.559 so that's sort of the life cycle of the plague. 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:18.800 But that's all in animals. 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:20.599 Yeah, I want to hear about it in humans. I 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:21.600 do to the good stuff. 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:23.240 I want to get to the good stuff. I mean, 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:23.920 that was good stuff. 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:25.280 No, I know, I really liked it. 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.839 So the plague in humans, there's three different forms of plague. 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:36.040 The first is the boobonic, the famous, the most famous, 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:38.280 most likely that you've heard of it. It's what we 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:43.360 named our drink after Boobo, the boobonic plague. This plague 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:47.520 is caused when a human is infected via the bite 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:51.000 of an infected flea. So it's not dissimilar from what 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:56.079 we discussed in the animal cycle. A flea bites you, 0:11:56.480 --> 0:12:00.760 barfs a whole bunch of bacteria into your blood, and 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.520 that's how you get infected. Those bacteria travel through your 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.679 lymph system to your lymph nodes, most commonly the ones 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.760 in your armpit or your groin and then the bacteria 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.520 multiply a whole bunch of times there and it forms 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:17.480 what's called a boobo, which is essentially a giant infected 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.840 lymph node full of bacteria. 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.160 Oh did you know that? 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.480 In And I'm going to talk a lot about the 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:27.240 Black Death in a bit, but did you know that? 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.640 During the Black Death? One of the things that people 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.160 wrote about in regards to boobos was that they made 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:33.320 gurgling noises. 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:39.480 Oh like like yeah, like the bubos were speaking. 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.400 Oh my god, that's disgusting. 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:42.440 I need to hear it. 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:45.080 I would love to hear that. Actually, I wonder if 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:46.800 there's recordings on YouTube or something. 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:49.760 So I'm not sure if this has ever been replicated 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.679 in modern events, but I want to know. 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:54.480 I know it would be really cool. 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:56.360 Gurgling booby might just be. 0:12:56.679 --> 0:13:00.480 Those medieval exaggerators hyperbolizers. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:01.640 I mean, yeah, what did they think the world was 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:02.600 ending or something? 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.960 So the incubation period for the bubonic plague is generally 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:13.920 around one to seven days. It has a pretty large variation, 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.960 and in addition to those characteristic boobos, you also have 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:21.679 some general signs like fever, chills, head and body aches, 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.400 vomiting and nausea is very common with the bubonic plague. 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.400 So pretty generalized at the beginning. 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:32.360 Generalized except for that very characteristic bubo. Right. However, not 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.480 everyone who gets infected with the plague is going to 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.560 end up with bubos. There are two other forms of 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:39.120 the disease. 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:40.079 Oh yeah. 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:43.840 The first that I'll talk about briefly is septacemic. Okay, 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.480 So sepsis is a disease that can actually happen with 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:51.640 any infection. It's essentially just an overload of bacteria in 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:57.520 your blood stream, specifically and with bubonic plague. Bubonic plague 0:13:57.559 --> 0:14:01.880 can spread to the blood stream from the lymphatics and 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:05.760 then become septocemic plague. However, it's also possible to get 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:09.360 primary septiscemic plague, which means that you have an overload 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:12.560 of bacteria, a very high bacterial load in your bloodstream 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:14.600 without any characteristic boobos. 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:19.480 Could a person get septiscemic plague, for instance, somehow, either 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.680 via a flea or via contact with an infected individual, 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:26.200 get bacteria deposited directly into their bloodstream through like an 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:26.760 open wound. 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:30.280 Yes, that's certainly possible, okay, And there may be differences 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.960 in that different species of flea feed differently. There's not 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:36.520 a lot of information on the various species of flea 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:39.560 and how they transmit, but it is certainly possible that 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.560 you can get infected directly through your bloodstream from the 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.240 bite of a flea. It is also possible to get 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:50.040 infected from so the advanced stages of bubonic plague can 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:53.800 end with open sores. Your boobos open up and they're 0:14:53.960 --> 0:15:02.040 just whoo like oozing seeping bacteria. But human to human 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.440 transmission of bubonic plague is very, very limited. You'd have 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:09.160 to have a ton of contact with that bubo to 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:13.000 really get infected. That wabonic plague exactly. Bubonic Okay. That 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:17.080 is in contrast to pneumonic Oh yeah, which I know 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:17.960 is your favorite. 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:23.320 Well favorite is favorite is a tricky word, too strong 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:25.920 of a word. Maybe it's the most terrifying to me. 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:30.280 It is the most virulent form of the disease. Mneumonic plague, 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:34.200 which means that it has infected your lungs is transmitted 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:39.160 via respiratory droplets. It is quite high. So for bubonic 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.520 plague the mortality rate is between thirty to sixty percent, 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:47.920 and for septiscemic untreated yes, and for septocemic plague, it's 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.760 on the high end, maybe eighty or ninety percent, but 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:54.040 pneumonic plague, if untreated, is almost one hundred percent fatal. 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:59.080 It's really sad. Yeah, So mneumonic plague again means that 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:03.920 it was transmitted via respiratory droplets. So bubonic plague, if 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:06.880 it spreads to your lungs, can become mnemonic plague. But 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.400 what's scary about pneumonic plague is that it can also 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:15.240 be transmitted directly human to human via respiratory droplets. Uh 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.520 oh yeah, like the flu, like the flu, like smallpox, 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:21.600 like so many other diseases that we've seen. So with 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.840 pneumonic plague, the incubation period here in some cases can 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.880 be as short as twenty four hours. And again the 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.280 untreated fatality rate is almost one hundred percent. 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.720 And remind our listeners, incubation period is. 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.320 Incubation period is the time from when you become infected 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:41.440 to when you show symptoms. 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:43.840 Okay, and so with pneumonic plague. 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:46.960 It can be as little as twenty four hours, very soon, 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.040 very short. And what's really sad is that you can 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:53.240 also die within that amount of time, so it takes 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:57.920 over your body very rapidly. It encompasses very severe respiratory symptoms, 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:02.120 including shortness of breath and costing. Initially the cough will 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:05.440 be dry, but over time, oh no, it will become 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:09.440 very productive. That's what we call it productive cough, meaning 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:13.639 you're coughing up gunk from your lungs bhlm, phlem, but 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:19.040 mostly blood and bacteria. Whoa. So the one good thing 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:24.200 about the mnemonic plague, there's a good thing about it, surprisingly, yes, 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:29.760 is that it is most infectious at the end stage 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:30.400 of the disease. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:31.320 Okay. 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.120 And so if you're treating someone or caring for someone 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:37.560 who has pneumonic plague and they've just come down with symptoms, 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:40.040 you may still be okay, yes. 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.200 As long as you just abandon them right before they die. 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:45.119 Abandon them before they die, just kidding. Wear a mask. 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:47.240 Oh that that's an alternative. 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:51.960 That's an alternative. Abandon them or wear a mask. But yeah, 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:55.919 you're most infectious during the last few hours, especially of 0:17:55.960 --> 0:18:01.320 your disease. However, what's scary is that you also remain 0:18:01.359 --> 0:18:05.520 infectious after you die. What so, people who are preparing 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:10.200 bodies for burial, for example, can become infected by close 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.520 contact with the body because their body is still full 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.320 of bacteria, and that bacteria is still alive. 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:19.200 And all it takes is just a couple bacteria exactly. 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.560 Ooh yeah, So that's a little bit scary. 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:24.160 That's rough. 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:27.680 The other good news is that all of the plague 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:31.560 is treatable with antibiotics as long as you catch it 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:32.320 early enough. 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:33.160 Caveat. 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:35.560 That's the big caveat, And we'll talk a lot about 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:38.160 that when we talk about what's going on with plague today. 0:18:38.320 --> 0:19:02.040 Yeah. 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:04.760 Are you ready to learn about the history? I literally 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.920 can't wait. There's a lot of ground to cover here. 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:11.880 Oh my god, So just jump in all right. 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:16.480 The plague Bacterium likely evolved as a human pathogen during 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:20.960 the time when agriculture and large stationary human settlements became widespread, 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.439 which was about five ten thousand years ago. That's for 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.080 the plague jumping into humans. 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:28.600 Awesome. 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:30.000 Are you noticing a pattern yet? 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:34.040 By the way, every disease is from the agriculture revolution. 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:38.760 All of the diseases that we've discussed so far, and 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:41.639 probably many in the future, have emerged as a result 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:45.200 of farming and human crowding. The invention of agriculture was 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:48.280 great for humans in many ways. It allowed us to 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:51.920 have some degree of food security, which could support larger populations, 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:55.320 and then we could have division of labor, governments, more 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:59.480 time for creative output, art trade, basically the things that. 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:01.119 We think of being human. 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:05.400 Right. Humans weren't the only ones that were positively impacted 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:06.359 by this new way of life. 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:07.600 Oh yeah, who else? 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:09.000 Oh yeah? 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.720 The domestication of livestock and long term storage of grains 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:15.320 and other food meant that humans were living in close 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:17.600 proximity to animals and a pathogens. 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:19.760 Do you know who else. 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:21.399 Loves piles and piles of grains? 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:22.200 I can guess. 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:25.719 Well, your husband should know, aaron, he were temporary. 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:30.200 He does, So what is it? It's rats and mice 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:30.840 and rodents? 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:31.520 Ye, rodent. 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:33.480 They just got a cat, so they no longer have 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:34.120 that problem. 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:37.119 That's great, but cats can still give you mnemonic plagus. 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:38.440 Well you know, but whatever. 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:43.840 Do you know who loves rodents? They're fleas? 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:44.800 Oh yeah. 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:49.240 When humans domesticated livestock and began growing crops, some rodents 0:20:49.240 --> 0:20:54.359 were basically domesticated alongside livestock, though less intentionally. Rats and 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:57.720 mice started living alongside humans, adapting to live in the nooks. 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.239 And crannies of houses and food storage built, and they 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:04.760 became a constant fixture. They were everywhere all the time 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:07.959 wherever humans went, so did the rats and their fleas 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:12.040 and their fleas bacteria. Yeah, and the more humans, the 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:13.360 more rats, and. 0:21:13.320 --> 0:21:15.359 The more rats, the more fleas, and the more fleas, 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:18.760 the more plague. You got it, I understand this cycle. 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:21.760 But what about the plague bacterium. 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:26.359 Well, the plague bacterium jumped from harmless little beet pop 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:30.600 to destroyer of worlds in Central Asia right as farming 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:34.320 was taking off. The plague bacterium doesn't just reside in 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:37.200 so called domestic rodents, as you learn from. 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:39.160 The biology just a little bit ago. 0:21:39.320 --> 0:21:42.480 It also thrives in many, many species of wild rodent. 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:44.639 And it's thought that wild rodents were where the plague 0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:46.159 bacterium turned pathogen. 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:47.800 Oh wow. Yeah. 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:52.600 The favorable climate and newly adopting farming practices of humans 0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:53.240 led to. 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:55.040 Huge population growth. 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:58.399 For the first time, cities could sustain themselves, and wide 0:21:58.400 --> 0:22:02.119