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brownie81 t1_j4zypcw wrote

I always thought the prevailing knowledge was that the fleas on the rats were how it got from the east to the west, and then once it was rooted it spread through human contact.

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Rear-gunner OP t1_j504vsz wrote

This is indeed the commonly accepted view

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brownie81 t1_j5066tj wrote

I could only skim the article but it seems like their research was focused on the animal reservoirs in Europe and the fact that rats are slow-moving mammals so wouldn't necessarily facilitate a rapid spread.

My understanding was that the rats were only the vector on the trade ships from the east and the actual spread through Europe was primarily done by humans. I suppose I just don't fully understand their hypothesis.

PS: I checked out the actual published research and it's more clear. The research is confirming the hypothesis that there weren't significant plague reservoirs in Europe. The original article is a bit clickbaity I guess is all. Tries to make it seem like some epic debunking or something lol.

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bubba4114 t1_j51rtju wrote

So to summarize, fleas on the rats introduced the plague to various parts of Europe via trade routes and then humans spread it from there?

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brownie81 t1_j5264hd wrote

That is my understanding of it but I’m not too knowledgeable on the subject. This study was specifically about there being no natural plague reservoirs in Europe, due to various factors.

The actual study is pretty interesting.

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Jjex22 t1_j541wo5 wrote

Tbh that’s basically how it was taught to me in school 20 years ago, so I think they’re right to call it a bit click baity

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Wooglets t1_j5126lj wrote

Happy cake day and thanks for putting in the extra effort for us lazy ones

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Laura-ly t1_j61rdad wrote

> their research was focused on the animal reservoirs in Europe and the fact that rats are slow-moving mammals

Huh? The rats around these parts are very quick. Maybe American rats are much quicker than European rats.

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ThorFinn_56 t1_j50otqk wrote

Apparently it was the other way around. It was spread from the east to the west via human contact and regionally rooted and spread via rats in the short term

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War_Hymn t1_j51niou wrote

Either way, the main culprit here is the flea.

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One_Hand_Smith t1_j515i47 wrote

Iirc wasn't it from trade ships coming and going from Asia to one of the prominent city states in italy?

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AmandatheMagnificent t1_j545owk wrote

When I was in grad school, I wrote a paper theorizing that it was spread via the Mongolian version of the Pony Express as they traveled across Asia and along the Silk Routes. I also put more stock into coughing/sneezing as main infection pathways. Like this paper contains a lot of theories I had as a young 22 year old baby nerd.

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Doobledorf t1_j50ixoo wrote

Didn't need to be human contact. The main transmission was through blood. IE, flees.

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Kenilwort t1_j519pfu wrote

The confusion was that those fleas are called rat fleas but they can live on many different warm-blooded hosts. Camels, dogs, humans, etc.

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brownie81 t1_j50jkb5 wrote

Sorry yes I suppose I just mean it had spread to human communities. Thanks!

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OutOfStamina t1_j5128l2 wrote

So in other words, fleas and rats. got it. I think which directly caused the infection with bites/feces is irrelevant.

I think we could also call it, "poor hygiene" or "general hygiene not sufficient enough to support the population of the world at the time".

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