Posted on 02/02/2015 6:53:13 AM PST by wtd
CNN)An outbreak of the plague has killed dozens in Madagascar, and experts fear those numbers could go up.
At least 119 cases were confirmed by late last year, including 40 deaths, the World Health Organization said in a statement.
And the disease is taking an alarming turn.
"The outbreak that started last November has some disturbing dimensions," the WHO said this week. "The fleas that transmit this ancient disease from rats to humans have developed resistance to the first-line insecticide."
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Obama sending planes to bring the patients to the USA, and giving them voter registrations.
Am I remembering correctly something about dead frozen rats found in an auto after an accident?
Yes, an Orthodox Jewish couple were killed by a Hispanic gangster who rammed there car. The frozen rats are mentioned at the bottom of the article. He said they were to feed his pet boa constrictor.
ThanksCicero
Mexican drug gang member? Wonder if anyone check out the snake story Was the snake used to transport drugs? How easy to spread disease along with the drugs?
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Back to the thread.
Probably more than you wanted to know.
Here’s a comment from a Wall Street Journal article via Drudge; see link for more info.
Big Data and Bacteria: Mapping the New York Subways DNA
Scientists in 18-Month Project Gather DNA Throughout Transit System to Identify Germs, Study Urban Microbiology
“At spots in three NY Subway stations — on a garbage can, a MetroCard vending machine and a stairway railing —- they also turned up traces of the bacteria that cause bubonic plague.
“While common among rodents in the western U.S., plague infections are extremely rare along the Eastern Seaboard. It has been 12 years since a human case has been diagnosed in New York City, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
““We think the rats are the likely carrier [of the plague bacteria], since we see plenty of rat and mouse DNA,” said Dr. Mason.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/big-data-and-bacteria-mapping-the-new-york-subways-dna-1423159629
From the same article:
“Upholstery fabric can make a difference. Drug-resistant staph germs, (MRSA) can live for up to a week on materials used for airplane seat pockets, while E. coli can last 96 hours on the covering used for an airliner armrest, researchers at Auburn University said at a meeting of the American Society of Microbiology last year.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/big-data-and-bacteria-mapping-the-new-york-subways-dna-1423159629
MRSA germs also live on chair fabric in dr’s offices, beauty salons, and other public places for a week or more.
Snakes and drugs-—
On June 29th, 1993, Drug Enforcement Agents at Miami airport found 36 kilos of cocaine wrapped in condoms and stuffed into Boa constrictors, Boa constrictor. The snakes, imported from South America, were still alive when found, and consisted of 312 animals averaging about 1.5 metres in length. The cocaine was only found by accident when one of the snakes was seen to have an unnatural bulge. Officials X-rayed it to see what was inside and removed two condom-wrapped pellets, each containing four ounces of cocaine. Despite observation the officials were unable to apprehend anyone in relation to the case. They were also unable to find the importer and no arrests or charges were laid. It was the largest discovery of drugs in snakes ever.
Smith and Chiszar (1990) cite a case where serpents and drugs seemed to be connected.
In that the case the authors were called in by the Denver Department of Environmental Health (USA) to remove and identify two snakes that had been confiscated by police in a raid on a “Crack House”. The snakes were a Western Diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox, and an Asian pitviper, Trimeresurus sp. Smith and Chiszar suspected that the two snakes were temporary guards of drug packages placed in their cages.
Ping....(plague)
Interesting. From having hunted coyotes, when the carcass cools, the fleas go looking for a warmer place to be. (also why the carcass goes in the back of the pickup, not in a car trunk). If those rats had fleas, the cold chased them elsewhere.
Modern antibiotics will kill the plague bacteria.
I thought Plague was bacterial.
Bring Out Your Dead
Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.
The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.
So far the false positive rate is 100%.
At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.
*sigh* Such is life, and death...
So is pneumonia but I still get a vaccination for it.
Coming soon to an open-border country near you.
Also viral.
Thanks for the ping!
Now with wood alcohol, so you won't have to see Obama destroy the country (because it make you blind)!
I’m sure they are on their way now, and we are heartless if we don’t let them in.
I don’t think you would need to worry about fleas on frozen rats. The fleas, I think, would skedaddle when the rat dies.
Aaah! I will try not to remember this info when we go to see “American Sniper” this weekend. First time we will be inside a movie theater in several years.
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