brownie81

brownie81 t1_j5066tj wrote

I could only skim the article but it seems like their research was focused on the animal reservoirs in Europe and the fact that rats are slow-moving mammals so wouldn't necessarily facilitate a rapid spread.

My understanding was that the rats were only the vector on the trade ships from the east and the actual spread through Europe was primarily done by humans. I suppose I just don't fully understand their hypothesis.

PS: I checked out the actual published research and it's more clear. The research is confirming the hypothesis that there weren't significant plague reservoirs in Europe. The original article is a bit clickbaity I guess is all. Tries to make it seem like some epic debunking or something lol.

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