The plague (known as the Black Death in medieval times) was a bacterial infection that swept across Europe and Asia between the 14th and 17th centuries. The plague emerged in Central Asia in the 1300s and reached Italy via trade routes in 1345. By 1348, the disease had reached England and was spreading widely across Europe. The disease was transmitted by fleas that lived on small rodents and spread throughout Europe and Asia by traders and crusaders on ships. There were three different types of plague, each with its own very serious symptoms. The most common type was bubonic plague, an infection of the lymphatic system. Bubonic plague gets its name from the buboes (swollen lymph nodes) that develop around the armpit, groin, and neck with the disease. Besides buboes, infected people also developed gangrene of the extremities, high fever, chills, headaches, muscle cramps, etc. Bubonic plague was spread when a person was bitten by an animal or flea and came into contact with the plague bacteria, or when a person was bitten by an animal or flea. has come into direct contact with an infected animal. Thi...