Plague spread during the first pandemic.

The very first pandemic recorded in the world was the Justinian plague, named after the ruler Justinian I, who suffered from the plague, but was able to survive. Approximately 30-50 million people died from it. The disease is believed to have started in Ethiopia or Egypt. Rats infected with plague sticks became the distributors. The animals got on the ships and spread the disease throughout the Mediterranean states. In Constantinople about 4,500-5,000 people died every day. It is believed that the first plague pandemic lasted for about 200 years.