ID#: 17952
Caption:
This image depicts a black rat, Rattus rattus, which is one of the amplification hosts associated with the spread of Black Death, or plague. In this particular case, this rat was killed after being discovered in a child’s crib. Rats infected with the plague bacteria, Yersinia pestis, host fleas, which ingest the rat’s infected blood, in turn themselves becoming infected. If these fleas then bite a human being, in order to obtain another blood meal, they transfer these bacteria, thereby, infecting the human with plague.
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Content Provider(s): CDC/ Dr. J.M. Clinton
Creation Date: 1968
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Copyright Restrictions: None - This image is in the public domain and thus free of any copyright restrictions.