On the basis of a 14th-century account by the Genoese Gabriele de’ Mussi, the Black Death is widely believed to have reached Europe from the Crimea as the result of a biological warfare attack. This is not only of great historical interest but also relevant to current efforts to evaluate the threat of military or terrorist use of biological weapons. Based on published translations of the de’ Mussi manuscript, other 14th-century accounts of the Black Death, and secondary scholarly literature, I conclude that the claim that biological warfare was used at Caffa is plausible and provides the best explanation of the entry of plague into the city. This theory is consistent with the technology of the times and with contemporary notions of disease causation; however, the entry of plague into Europe from the Crimea likely occurred independent of this event.
PakalanaPikake
November 10, 2018 at 6:20 PM
KINGDOM (2019, Netflix)
Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa, by Mark Wheelis,
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 09/2002
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/8/9/01-0536_article
(more)
PakalanaPikake
November 10, 2018 at 6:38 PM
Fascinating and creepy as hell.
Wheelis M. Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2002;8(9):971-975. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid0809.010536
Abstract
On the basis of a 14th-century account by the Genoese Gabriele de’ Mussi, the Black Death is widely believed to have reached Europe from the Crimea as the result of a biological warfare attack. This is not only of great historical interest but also relevant to current efforts to evaluate the threat of military or terrorist use of biological weapons. Based on published translations of the de’ Mussi manuscript, other 14th-century accounts of the Black Death, and secondary scholarly literature, I conclude that the claim that biological warfare was used at Caffa is plausible and provides the best explanation of the entry of plague into the city. This theory is consistent with the technology of the times and with contemporary notions of disease causation; however, the entry of plague into Europe from the Crimea likely occurred independent of this event.
mugyuljoie is preciousss
November 11, 2018 at 12:30 AM
Scary.
PakalanaPikake
November 11, 2018 at 12:41 AM
Very. And this is why quarantine used to be standard public health procedure.