How the Black Death Ended: Factors Behind the Plague's Decline

The Black Death (1347–1351) killed an estimated 30–50% of Europe's population. Its decline resulted from multiple factors:

• Natural immunity: Survivors developed resistance.
• Quarantine measures: Venice pioneered 40-day ship isolation (quarantino).
• Improved public hygiene: Waste removal, burial practices.
• Ecological changes: Shifts in rodent populations and climate.
• Reduced population density: Fewer hosts for flea-borne transmission.

Vaccines for plague were not developed until the late 19th century (Haffkine, 1897) and played no role in ending the medieval pandemic.