# Yersinia Pestis: The Bacterium That Killed a Third of Europe #shorts

**Channel:** Ashes of Yesterday
**Source:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc9kVo20YbM
**Transcript page:** https://www.withtranscript.ai/video/Hc9kVo20YbM

## Chapters

- 0:00 — The Tiny Bacterium Behind Death
- 0:18 — The Plague Reaches Medieval Europe
- 0:32 — A Final Look at the Killer

## Transcript

**[0:00]:** This is the deadliest thing ever photographed. Yersinia pestis, a bacterium so small you need a microscope to see it. It rode across continents inside fleas on the backs of rats in the holds of trading ships. A single flea bite was enough to pass it on.

**[0:18]:** In 1347, it reached Europe. Within 3 years, it had killed a third of everyone on the continent. Scientists found its DNA in medieval graves and proved this tiny killer did it all.

**[0:32]:** The deadliest thing ever photographed, smaller than a speck of dust.