Um....hate to burst any bubbles here.....
The "black death" refers to bubonic plague, which is a bacterial infection which affects the lymph nodes. One of the symptoms is red spots which turn black, thus the "black" in the name. It's related to pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs, and septicemic plague, which affects the blood.
All 3 forms of the plague, being bacterial infections, can be treated successfully with anti-biotics, if caught in time. Keep that in mind.
The H1N1 flu, commonly mis-named the "swine" flu, is a viral infection, which cannot be treated with anti-biotics. This is why they had to come up with a preventive inoculation, which introduces a weaked or dead version of the flu virus to a human being, which is much easier for the body's defensive systems to fight, causing the body to build an immunity to the virus. Then, when an inoculated person is exposed to the full strength virus, their body already has a mechanism in place to fight it.
H1N1, in most healthy adults, is not nearly as deadly as it was first feared to be. News reports have already come out saying this to be true. In areas where decent health care is minimal, or nonexistent, it could have a higher rate of success against the populace. Generally speaking, children, young adults and the elderly are affected worse than anyone else, which is why they're suggesting those groups of people get inoculated first.
The "black death" was caused by a nasty germ, in an era long before anti-biotics were available. It was worsened by living conditions, poor housekeeping (it was spread by fleas, which were carried by rats), and ignorance. Comparing H1N1 to the plague is a bit overboard, imho.
