History

The Bubonic Plague was first discovered in October 1347 when several ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina littered with dead bodies and extremely sick sailors. The Sicilian authorities then quickly ordered the ships out of the harbor, but it was too late. 20 plus million people suffered and died within the next 5 years. Doctors began to refuse to see patients and animals that the Plague had affected. People even begin to give up their loved ones in hope for immunity and believed the gods had created this disease to kill everyone. However, that was untrue and the disease slowly disappeared and reappeared many times throughout history. The French biologist Alexandre Yersin discovered the germ that caused Bubonic Plague at the end of the 19th century.