The Black Death was the second pandemic of bubonic plague and the most devastating pandemic in world history. It was a descendant of the ancient plague that had afflicted Rome, from 541 to 549 CE, during the time of emperor Justinian. The bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, persisted for centuries in wild rodent colonies in Central Asia and, somewhere in the early 1300s, mutated into a form much more virulent to humans.

Written by John Brooke. Narrated by Nicholas Breyfogle.

A video and print version of this audio is available at http://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/covid-black-death-plague-lessons.

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