A possible connection between vertical transhumance and temporary plague reservoirs during the Second Plague epidemic
Journal: bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Year: 2025

A bstract The Second Plague Pandemic (SPP) ravaged large parts of Eurasia and North Africa between the 14th and 19th centuries. Today, plague is still active in parts of Asia, Africa, and America. One of the hotly debated topics in plague studies is the geographic origins of the recurrent plague waves in Europe after the Black Death (1338-1353): Were they being repeatedly introduced from ‘outside’, or did they originate in ‘domestic’ reservoirs? Here, we build upon recent work arguing for the ex