Rats wrongly framed for 'Black Death' in Europe: Study

New Delhi : Rats have been wrongly framed for spreading plague, commonly called Black Death that killed millions of people in the medieval Europe.

The disease may have spread from person to person through human-feeding parasites, including fleas and lice, claims a new study.

The findings in the study straight away challenge claims which said "plague in Europe was predominantly spread by rats."

The study has been published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (January 16 edition).

Plague is a common disease that is caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which are carried by rodents and their fleas. One third of the European population is believed to have lost its life due to the disease in the 1300s. It was termed as Black Death.

As per current understanding, the disease is believed to get transmitted after fleas that have fed on infected rats go on to bite humans. This could also have happened during the Black Death — for instance, when infected rats died, their flea parasites could "jump" from the recently dead rat hosts to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the new study, the researchers used mathematical equations to create three different models of plague transmission during a series of outbreaks in Europe called the second pandemic, which includes the Black Death, and occurred during the 14th through 19th centuries.

Since the number rat deaths are way too less than the ones of humans it is speculated that the disease may have spread from humans to humans.

"Plague is undeniably a disease of significant scientific, historic and public interest, and is still present in many parts of the world today," the researchers said. "It is therefore crucial that we understand the full spectrum of capabilities that this versatile, pandemic disease has exhibited in the past," they concluded.