Three cases of plague in China made the headlines last November, reminding us that the Plague, the medieval disease par excellence, still exists today. A wildlife refuge was closed last summer near Denver, Colorado, when infected prairie dogs were discovered. And, in 2017, Madagascar saw a large outbreak. More than 2,300 cases of plague were diagnosed on the island, leading to over 200 deaths.
Current cases of plague, whether isolated incidents or full outbreaks, are intertwined with past pandemics. They help us to understand medieval pandemics and the history of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible. And, in turn, the history of Yersinia pestis provides us with a new, global history.
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