Today, we are being told by multiple mainstream media outlets that resurgence of the Black Death is on the way. But is this story really news worthy?
Fear merchants in mainstream media editorial rooms across the world seem very keen to promote the idea of a “high alert” situation in China’s Inner Mongolia region where it has been reported that one “suspected case” of Bubonic Plague was detected over the weekend.
The recent outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus has been a hot topic of late, but the Draconian measures instituted by the Chinese Government and the steps being taken worldwide appear to be having the desired effect. Hopefully, in spite of all the hysteria, it will eventually prove no bigger problem than regular influenza.
During the 17th century, London suffered a plague so severe that it killed almost 1/4 of its entire population in 18 months. Scientists haven’t been sure what exactly caused the widespread disease, until now. [1]
Source: Boston.com
The subway is famous for many things, many of them unpleasant. The New York City subway, for example, is notorious for its disgusting rat population.
If you’ve ever ridden the NYC subway, you know you can’t stand on a subway platform without seeing at least one rat run by. Some of those suckers are as big as a purse or a carry-on bag. Maybe you remember Pizza Rat, the infamous rodent seen dragging a huge slice of pizza down the NYC subway stairs.
If you think the Plague is something of our ancestors’ medieval past, think again. It has been confirmed that a 16-year-old New Mexico boy is suffering from the first confirmed case of the Plague of 2016. Officials state that the boy is thankfully recovering and that they will be informing those in his neighborhood of the potential risks and symptoms of this poorly understood illness.
If you plan on visiting Lake Tahoe (a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S.) anytime in the near future, you might want to make sure you’re thoroughly covered up and wearing some sort of natural insect repellent. A flea from a yellow chipmunk in the area tested positive for plague, the U.S. Forest Service announced June 6.
A tiny flea, so small that most people wouldn’t notice the bug unless they were looking for it, bit a 16-year-old girl who was on a hunting trip in Oregon, giving her a rare case of bubonic plague.
The CDC is urging doctors to consider a diagnosis of the plague if a patient presents with fever, abdominal pain, and nausea and vomiting, especially if the individual has recently visited the Western United States or are residents of the region.
Since April, 11 people have been diagnosed with the human plague – an unusually high number, considering between 2001 and 2012, the annual number of cases of the disease reported in the U.S. ranged from one to 17, the CDC said in a statement. The median number of annual plague cases across the past decade had been three. [1]
This recent headline is concerning on the face of it, but how serious really is the potential for the spread of the plague? Actually the plague has been around practically forever with cases usually occurring between late Spring and early Fall. The states of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico are the only three that produce cases due to flea bites. The Colorado teen Taylor Thomas Gaes likely contracted the plague from a flea bite.
