Black Death (Bubonic Plague) had taken 200 million between 1347-1351. On the onset in 1500 the world population was about .39 billion and Black Death took 51% of the population. This plague is still with us today, less infections and treated with antibiotics, if contacted in the US today you still have an 11% mortality rate! (www.visualcapitalist.com)
Patients develop sudden onset of fever, headache, chills, and weakness and one or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes (called buboes). This form is usually the result of an infected flea bite. The bacteria multiply in the lymph node closest to where the bacteria entered the human body. If the patient is not treated with appropriate antibiotics, the bacteria can spread to other parts of the body.
In the US human plague occurs in areas where the bacteria are present in wild rodent populations. The risks are generally highest in rural and semi-rural areas, including homes that provide food and shelter for various ground squirrels, chipmunks and wood rats, or other areas where you may encounter rodents.
When bubonic plague is left untreated, plague bacteria can invade the bloodstream. When plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream, they spread rapidly throughout the body and cause a severe and often fatal condition called septicemic plague. Untreated bubonic plague can also progress into an infection of the lungs, causing pneumonic plague. If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, all forms of plague can progress rapidly to death.
A plague vaccine is not available. New plague vaccines are in development but are not expected to be commercially available in the immediate future.
*All information here is from www.cdc.gov*
To enter Belle Isle State Park you will need either a Michigan State Park Passport or a day pass. Residents are $17.00 per year, non residence is $34.00 per year and the daily pass is $9.00 per day.