<P> The plague resurfaced for a third time in the mid-19th century . Like the two previous outbreaks, this one also originated in Eastern Asia . The initial outbreak occurred in China's Yunnan province in 1855 . The disease remained localized in Southwest China for several years before spreading . In the city of Canton, beginning in January 1894, the disease killed 80,000 people by June . Daily water - traffic with the nearby city of Hong Kong rapidly spread the plague there, killing over 2,400 within two months . </P> <P> From China, the plague spread to the Indian subcontinent around 1896 . Over the next thirty years, India would lose 12.5 million people to the bubonic plague . The disease was initially seen in port cities, beginning with Bombay (now Mumbai), but later emerged in Poona (now Pune), Kolkata, and Karachi (now in Pakistan). By 1899, the outbreak spread to smaller communities and rural areas in many regions of India . Overall, the impact of plague epidemics was greatest in western and northern India--in the provinces then designated as Bombay, Punjab, and the United Provinces--while eastern and southern India were not as badly affected . Ultimately, more than 12 million people died from the plague in India (including present day Pakistan and Bangladesh) and China alone . </P> <P> In 1899, the plague reached the islands of Hawaii . The first evidence of the disease was found in Honolulu's Chinatown on Oahu . It was located very close to the island's piers, and rats in cargo ships from China were able to land on the Hawaiian islands unseen . As the rats, hosts for disease - carrying fleas, made their way deeper into the city, people started to fall ill . On December 12, 1899, the first case was confirmed . The Board of Health then quickly thought of ways to prevent the disease from spreading even further inland . Their solution was to burn down any buildings in Chinatown suspected of containing a source of the disease . On December 31, 1899, the board set the first fire . They had originally planned to burn only a few targeted buildings, and thought they could control the flames as each building was finished, but the fire got out of control, burning down untargeted neighboring buildings . The resulting fire caused many of Chinatown's homes to be destroyed and an estimated 4,000 people were left homeless . </P> <P> Australia suffered 12 major plague outbreaks between 1900 and 1925 originating from shipping . Research by Australian medical officers Thompson, Armstrong and Tidswell contributed to understanding the spread of Yersinia pestis to humans by fleas from infected rats . </P>

What did the black death do to the human body