The third and most serious form of plague is the pneumonic plague. The pneumonic plague can also be transitional if either of the other two forms are left untreated and allowed to infect the lungs. The Pneumonic Plague can also be contracted by inhaling infectious droplets hat could be transmitted through the cough of an infected person, resulting in rapidly forming Pneumonia that often led to respiratory failure and shock. Pneumonic plague is the only form of plague that can be transferred directly from person to person ("Plague: Symptoms ").
It is believed that the Black Death originated in China, specifically the Gobi Desert, during the 1320's (Murray). The disease continued to spread, reaching the coast of the black sea in 1346 (Murray). By 1347 the plague reaches Constantinople and then to Alexandria, Cyprus, and Sicily as well as Italy (Murray). In 1348, the illness reaches France, the Italian Islands, Germany, the rest of Egypt, and parts of England (Murray). In 1349, Scotland the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the Islamic world are all affected (Murray). In 1350 Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Slavic Europe are all hit, followed by the eastern side of Germany as well as the Russian Steppe where pandemic finally comes to an end (Murray). .
The way that plague was spread was another huge factor in how devastating the death toll of this disease was. As stated earlier, the disease originated in the Gobi Desert (Murray). During this time, there were three main trade routes to the west. At this point, trade ships were the main carrier of the disease (Murray). Flea infested rats would hide among the cargo and infect the sailors; and when the ships would come to port, some of the rats would leave the ship and infect some of the townspeople in the new town (Murray). Fleas that were carried by rats would bite humans, therefore infecting them ("Plague: Ecology and Transmission "). From there, the person would become ill and would often spread the disease to other people.
