Revisiting the plague epidemic in Gévaudan, 1720-1722: the key roles of multiple zoonotic introductions and human-to-human transmission
File(s)
Submitted version
Supporting information
Author(s)
Jombart, Thibaut
Cori, Anne
Whittles, Lilith
Mouysset, Henry
Type
Working Paper
Abstract
We revisited the spread of the plague epidemic which decimated the province of Gévaudan, France, in 1720-1722, and was assumed to have its origin in the great plague epidemic of Marseille, 1720. Using historical records of bubonic plague deaths in the first affected village of Corréjac, we showed that the commonly admitted origin of the epidemic, thought to have been seeded by an escaped convict from Marseille, is highly implausible. We developed a statistical model to estimate the respective intensities of human-to-human and rodent-to-human transmission, and showed that both pathways were needed to sustain the epidemic, with person-to-person transmission accounting roughly for two thirds of all cases. These results bring support to the theory that human ectoparasites such as fleas and lice may play an important role in bubonic plague epidemics through the mediation of human-to-human transmission.
Date Issued
2025-07-18
Citation
2025
Publisher
medRxiv
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.18.25331563v1
Publication Status
Submitted