Those who remained behind in the crowded cities could do little to defend themselves against a sickness they did not understand. A few of the wealthiest and most advanced cities did take some measures to improve sanitation such as burying corpses outside the city walls and placing quarantines on infected homes and buildings.

Many cities established committees of public health to care for the sick, to oversee the disposal of bodies, and supervise basic sewage and garbage-collection services. Special homes were set aside for plague victims, and quarantine of affected households became more common. Other cities ordered the isolation of patients, the examination of cargoes and ships arriving at city gates and docks, and the guarding of shut-up houses. They banned public fairs and celebrations where large crowds gathered and ordered fumigators to disinfect sick houses with...