Scientists Assert That This Was The Cause Of The Byzantine Empire’s Demise – And That People Today Should Be Alarmed

Yersina pestis has been seen in rat populations since it originally appeared roughly 4,000 years ago. The bacterium can be carried by gerbils and marmots, but it is most commonly connected with the black rats that infest human homes. And, just as fleas on rats disperse, illness disperses as well.

It’s incredible how one bacteria made its way from China to the Mediterranean through a sequence of mishaps and coincidences. Even if we now have a better understanding of germ theory, we can still learn from this conflict of man and nature.