

'Gerbils replace rats' as main cause of Black Death - benbreen
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31588671

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bcRIPster
Sooo... what we're really saying here is that we really don't know.

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hga
Yep. There's even been some debate WRT to the Black Death agent being
_Yersinia pestis_ (formerly _Pasteurella pestis_ ), some think or thought an
hemorrhagic virus was a more likely cause.

It's hard looking that far back in time ... but we've got some amazing
techniques now. We've found enough DNA in exhumed victims of not only the
Black Death, but the 6th Century Plague of Justinian, 1,500 years ago (DNA is
hardy stuff) to confirm they were distinct strains of _Yersinia pestis_.

From what animal reservoirs they jumped from, though, pretty much has to be
speculative. But it is interesting they're smelling a new "rat" ^_^.

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etrevino
It wouldn't surprise me if the Plague jumped from one host to another and that
became a semi-permanent reservoir. After the Plague came in during the Middle
Ages it became a periodic event that only died out in the 1720s. Why it died
out is still an open question.

