Posted on 10/05/2010 7:15:13 PM PDT by nickcarraway
State health officials say a woman in Lake County has been diagnosed with bubonic plague.
It’s the first diagnosis in Oregon in 15 years. The disease terrorized Europe’s population more than 600 years ago, but the plague is treatable when caught early.
The plague is extremely rare these days. It’s a bacterial infection carried by rodents, and is transmitted to humans though fleas.
Dr. Emilio DeBess is the public health veterinarian and an epidemiologist with Oregon Department of Human Services.
He says the disease, once known as the Black Death got somewhat of a bad rap after killing off a third of Europe’s population in the 1300s.
But he says thanks to scientific advances, it’s no longer a death sentence.
Emilio DeBess: “It’s a very treatable condition with antibiotics and so that’s usually not a concern, back then they didn’t have antibiotics. We do have very good antibiotics that treat the infection.”
Health officials have not released the name of the Lake County woman who fell ill at the end of August.
DeBess says authorities are now trying to determine the source of the infection.
If you kill off a third of Europe, it's not a "bad" rap.
It's a kinder, gentler Black Death.
This was written after a scientist was testing LSD on an elephant and it dropped dead rather quickly.
This is terrible news. This spreads very fast and can kill millions.
The biggest understatement of the year.
I recall that about 1900 there was a bubonic plague outbreak in India and something like 50 million people died.
There are a few cases every year. Here in Colorado it's spread among prairie dogs, and occasionally crosses over. It's not especially virulent -- certainly millions don't die from it.
This makes some believe that the Black Death may not actually have been Bubonic Plague as we currently know it.
Is this close to Portland (hopefully)?
The plague is not as rare as they make it sound. Every few years there is an outbreak of it on the Navajo reservations, the prairie dogs carry it. However, as the article states it is very curable now if it is caught early.
Another case of DDT being needed...
“DeBess says authorities are now trying to determine the source of the infection.”
Mexico?
Obama needs a new distraction crisis?
Once we have far fewer doctors and money, thanks to Obamacare, these types of events should prove to be rather exciting.
Rats in Oregon, whoda thunk?
Well with the enviroterrorists working hard to take society BACK 600 years. (With the help of the EPA) We will probably see more of these once CONTROLLED Diseases popping up.
We now have Hansen’s Disease here in the USA. It’s also known as leprosy. Guess where it is coming from.
It’s not all that uncommon... it’s just really easy to treat nowadays. Anywhere where antibiotics are hard to come by, and it can be a real big problem.
What are the symptoms?
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