ecause of this considerable impact on human history, the Pasteurella pestis bacillus was discovered by microbiologists relatively early. This Gram negative microorganism was first described in 1894. Although Pasteurella pestis typically occurs as a short, ovoid bacillus, its shape tends to exhibit characteristic variability (Pollitzer, 1954, p. 7). In general it is transmitted by insects, namely fleas. However, P. pestis can also potentially be spread from one person to another directly, or by contaminated objects (Pollitzer, 1954, p. 104).
Such known facts correspond well with observations made in The Plague. The epidemic described in Oran, Algeria was obviously spread by fleas. For example, the first indication of a problem was exhibited by the city's rat population. According to Camus, "On April 28, when the Ransdoc Bureau announced that 8,000 rats had been collected, a wave of something like panic swept the town (Camus, 1948, p. 16). Thus, the rats began to die in the spring a season which usually corresponds with warm weather and increased flea activity. Moreover, when Oran's rat population died off, "tens of thousands of fleas" were "loosed on the town." This dispersal of hungry, infected fleas was probably largely responsible for city's rapid increase in plague victims. The onset of the disease, plague, also tends to be sudden. According to Camus, "there are two sorts of cases: those who take fright, and those they're the majority who don't have time to do so" (Camus, 1948, p. 57). If prodromal symptoms occur, they may consist of malaise, headache, giddiness, mental apathy, restlessness, nausea, and pains in the limbs or lumbar region (Pollitzer, 1954, p. 411). Subsequent stages of infection include the development of fever. This may present as a feeling of chilliness or slight shivering. Then, the plague victim's temperature will rise suddenly; it may reach 103 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as a...