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Thread: Bubonic plague

  1. #1
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    Bubonic plague

    Fortunately, bubonic plague is manageable with modern medicine. I suspect this is one of those news things, like the murder hornets. But it's 2020, so who knows anymore?

    Suspected case of bubonic plague in China's Inner Mongolia
    By Jessie Yeung, CNN
    Updated 8:35 AM ET, Mon July 6, 2020

    (CNN)Authorities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia are on high alert after a suspected case of bubonic plague, the disease that caused the Black Death pandemic, was reported Sunday.

    The case was discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. A hospital alerted municipal authorities of the patient's case on Saturday. By Sunday, local authorities had issued a citywide Level 3 warning for plague prevention, the second lowest in a four-level system. The warning will stay in place until the end of the year, according to Xinhua.
    Plague, caused by bacteria and transmitted through flea bites and infected animals, is one of the deadliest bacterial infections in human history. During the Black Death in the Middle Ages, it killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe. Modern antibiotics can prevent complications and death if administered quickly enough.
    Bubonic plague, which is one of plague's three forms, causes painful, swollen lymph nodes, as well as fever, chills, and coughing.
    Bayannur health authorities are now urging people to take extra precautions to minimize the risk of human-to-human transmission, and to avoid hunting or eating animals that could cause infection.
    "At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city. The public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability, and report abnormal health conditions promptly," the local health authority said, according to state-run newspaper China Daily.
    Bayannur authorities warned the public to report findings of dead or sick marmots -- a type of large ground squirrel that is eaten in some parts of China and the neighboring country Mongolia, and which have historically caused plague outbreaks in the region.


    A Tarbagan marmot in steppes around Khukh Lake, Mongolia.

    The marmot is believed to have caused the 1911 pneumonic plague epidemic, which killed about 63,000 people in northeast China. It was hunted for its fur, which soared in popularity among international traders. The diseased fur products were traded and transported around the country -- infecting thousands along the way.
    Though that epidemic was contained within a year, marmot-related plague infections have persisted decades later. Just last week, two cases of bubonic plague were confirmed in Mongolia -- brothers who had both eaten marmot meat, according to Xinhua.
    Last May, a couple in Mongolia died from bubonic plague after eating the raw kidney of a marmot, thought to be a folk remedy for good health. Two more people got pneumonic plague -- another form of the disease, which infects the lungs -- months later across the border in Inner Mongolia.

    Why is plague still a thing?

    The advent of antibiotics, which can treat most infections if they are caught early enough, has helped to contain plague outbreaks, preventing the type of rapid spread witnesses in Europe in the Middle Ages.
    But while modern medicine can treat the plague, it has not eliminated it entirely -- and it has made a recent comeback, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to categorize it as a re-emerging disease.
    Anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 people get the plague every year, according to the WHO. But that total is likely too modest an estimate, since it doesn't account for unreported cases.
    The three most endemic countries -- meaning plague exists there permanently -- are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Peru.
    In the United States, there have been anywhere from a few to a few dozen cases of plague every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2015, two people in Colorado died from the plague, and the year before there were eight reported cases in the state.
    Untreated bubonic plague can turn into pneumonic plague, which causes rapidly developing pneumonia, after bacteria spreads to the lungs.
    This story has been updated
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #2
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    Not just China

    Also the U.S.


    HEALTH AND SCIENCE
    A squirrel has tested positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado
    PUBLISHED TUE, JUL 14 202010:46 AM EDT
    UPDATED TUE, JUL 14 202011:03 AM EDT
    Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
    @BERKELEYJR

    KEY POINTS
    A squirrel in Colorado has tested positive for the bubonic plague, also known as the “Black Death,” according to local health authorities.

    The squirrel was found in a town in Jefferson County, which is west of Denver, and is the first case in the region, health authorities said.

    Authorities are asking residents to take precautions, including avoiding contact with sick or dead wild animals and rodents and keeping pets from roaming freely outside.


    Matt Jonas | MediaNews Group | Boulder Daily Camera | Getty Images

    A squirrel in Colorado has tested positive for the bubonic plague, also known as the “Black Death,” according to local health authorities.

    The squirrel was found in a town in Jefferson County, which is west of Denver, and is the first case in the region, health authorities said in a statement released Sunday.

    The case comes about a week after authorities in a city in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia issued a warning after a hospital reported a case of suspected bubonic plague in a human. There were at least four reported cases of plague in people from Inner Mongolia late last year, according to the New York Times. Two of them were pneumonic plague, a deadlier variant of plague.

    The bubonic plague, infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages, is an often fatal disease caused by bacteria. Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Symptoms may include high fever, chills, headache, nausea and extreme pain and swelling of lymph nodes. The disease can cause serious illness or death without proper treatment, according to the CDC. Antibiotics are effective in treating it.

    Plague is found on most continents but most human cases since the 1990s have occurred in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

    Local authorities in Colorado are asking residents to take precautions, including avoiding contact with sick or dead wild animals and rodents and keeping pets from roaming freely outside. Cats are highly susceptible to plague and may die if not treated promptly with antibiotics, they said.

    The new case comes as the world continues to fight Covid-19, another serious disease that emerged six months ago. As of Tuesday, the virus has infected more than 13 million people worldwide and killed at least 573,200, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

    Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has compared it to the 1918 pandemic flu, which killed around 50 million people, according to the CDC.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #3
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    Plague in CA

    It's not full blown bubonic, but anything to knock the covid thread off the top for a moment.

    Code:
    South Lake Tahoe resident tests positive for plague
    News NEWS | 8h ago
    SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A South Lake Tahoe resident is the first in California in the last 5 years to test positive for plague, El Dorado County officials announced Monday.
    
    County officials were notified by the California Department of Public Health about the positive test.
    
    Officials say the individual is under medical care while recovering at home. They believe the person, who is an avid walker, may have been bitten by an infected flea while walking their dog along the Truckee River corridor north of the U.S. Highway 50 or the Tahoe Keys area in South Lake Tahoe.
    
    Health officials are investigating. 
    
    “Plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County,” said the county’s Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams in a press release. “It’s important that individuals take precautions for themselves and their pets when outdoors, especially while walking, hiking or camping in areas where wild rodents are present. Human cases of plague are extremely rare but can be very serious.” 
    
    
    Several areas of South Lake Tahoe have signs posted to advise the public of the presence of plague and ways to prevent exposure. 
    
    Plague is caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis, officials said. Plague bacteria are most often transmitted by fleas that have acquired the bacteria from infected squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents. Dogs and cats may also bring plague-infected fleas into the home. People can get plague when they are bitten by infected fleas. Plague can be prevented by avoiding contact with wild rodents and by keeping pets away from rodent burrows. 
    
    Officials say symptoms of plague usually show up within two weeks of exposure to an infected animal or flea and include fever, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes. Plague can be effectively treated with antibiotics if detected early.
    
    CDPH routinely monitors rodent populations for plague activity in California and closely coordinates with county health officials, said a press release. Surveillance activities in El Dorado County from 2016 to 2019 found a total of 20 rodents (ground squirrels or chipmunks) with evidence of exposure to the plague bacterium. These rodents were identified in the South Lake Tahoe area, at or near the Tallac Historic Site, Fallen Leaf Campground or Taylor Creek Visitor Center. 
    
    There were no recent reports of plague-associated illness to people in El Dorado County prior to the current case. The last reported cases of plague in California were two human cases which were exposed to infected rodents or their fleas in Yosemite National Park in 2015. Both people were treated and recovered. These were the first reported human cases in the state since 2006.
    
    Tips to prevent plague include the following:
    
    Do not feed squirrels, chipmunks or other wild rodents.  
    Never touch sick, injured or dead rodents.
    Do not allow your pets to play with or pick up sick, injured or dead rodents. 
    Do not camp, sleep or rest near animal burrows or areas where dead rodents are observed.
    Look for and heed posted warning signs.
    Wear long pants tucked into boot tops and spray insect repellent containing DEET on socks and pant cuffs to reduce exposure to fleas.
    Leave pets home if possible; otherwise keep pets on a leash.  Do not allow pets to approach sick or dead rodents or explore rodent burrows. 
    Protect pets with flea control products.
    Pet cats are highly susceptible to plague and can pose a direct threat to humans. Keep cats away from rodents. Consult a veterinarian if your cat becomes sick after being in contact with rodents.
    If you get sick after being in an area where plague is known to occur, consult a physician and tell them you may have been exposed to plague.
    State and local health officials said they will continue to monitor the situation and any plague-prone areas.
    
    To report a sick or dead rodent or for questions about plague, please contact El Dorado County Environmental Management at 530-573-3450.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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