Various causes were put forward. Today we know that there were two main forms of plague: Bubonic plague produced painful swellings - buboes. This form was mainly spread by fleas carried by rats.

Well, believe it or not, the plague is still around. Blame fleas and the rats, mice, chipmunks, and squirrels they infect. Bubonic plague is caused by bacteria that live in fleas. If you get bit ...

The term 'Black Death' specifically refers to the outbreak of the plague disease in the mid-1300s. Later outbreaks, like the one in London in 1665, have been referred to as 'the Plague'.

Scientists behind the Oxford Covid jab are developing a bubonic plague vaccine amid fears a superbug strain of the Black Death could emerge. There is no vaccine in the UK for the plague ...