Justinian and Belisarius killed by plague in 540 or early 541

I read that the plague which devastated Byzantium during Justinian's reign actually got the Emperor himself sick. He recovered, obviously.

What happens if he didn't? Assume the Emperor was one of it first victims in 540. For good measure, assume Belisarius is knocked out as well. Note that a sick Belisarius could easily put the Byzantine soldiers in a position which would get them sick as well.
 
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Germanus becomes Emperor. His exact relationship to Justinian is unclear- he could either have been his cousin or his nephew. Either way, he is around the age of forty at the time the plague struck, and becomes Emperor.
 
The question is do the conquests continue, and does the Empire get bankrupted and so forth? How does Europe fare in the wake of these deaths?
 
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