Plague (Black Death of the Middle Ages) a growing but overlooked threat

[rodsky]

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Plague a growing but overlooked threat: study

By Michael Kahn Mon Jan 14, 8:06 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Plague, the disease that devastated medieval Europe, is re-emerging worldwide and poses a growing but overlooked threat, researchers warned on Tuesday.

While it has only killed some 100 to 200 people annually over the past 20 years, plague has appeared in new countries in recent decades and is now shifting into Africa, Michael Begon, an ecologist at the University of Liverpool and colleagues said.

A bacterium known as Yersinia pestis causes bubonic plague, known in medieval times as the Black Death when it was spread by infected fleas, and the more dangerous pneumonic plague, spread from one person to another through coughing or sneezing.

"Although the number of human cases of plague is relatively low, it would be a mistake to overlook its threat to humanity, because of the disease's inherent communicability, rapid spread, rapid clinical course, and high mortality if left untreated," they wrote in the journal Public Library of Science journal PloS Medicine.

Rodents carry plague, which is virtually impossible to wipe out and moves through the animal world as a constant threat to humans, Begon said. Both forms can kill within days if not treated with antibiotics.

Read the rest here.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080115/...ague_threat_dc

Lesson to be learned? Don't ignore RATS. Kill them on sight! If you see one in your neighborhood, organize a RAT killing team or call your local government. Spread the word--ayaw pasagdi ang mga ilaga. Kill them on sight!

-RODION

[abuot]

who would have the heart to kill those cute little furry animals??

[pnk_shadows]

I'd agree. That's basically cruelty to animals. While they can oftentimes be pesky little creatures indeed, there is no need for panic and engage in a rat killing frenzy (translated: do not believe everything you read or hear). What we need to do is clean our surroundings because rodents are just vectors of diseases that they also got from the environment - a very filthy one, to be exact.

[rockart9]

kinda ironic isn't it considering its the year of the rat.

[rodsky]

I'd agree. That's basically cruelty to animals. While they can oftentimes be pesky little creatures indeed, there is no need for panic and engage in a rat killing frenzy (translated: do not believe everything you read or hear). What we need to do is clean our surroundings because rodents are just vectors of diseases that they also got from the environment - a very filthy one, to be exact.

Point taken. However, I do not see the killing of creatures widely accepted to be "pests" as cruelty to animals--it is merely a necessity. And yes, I do admit there was a hint of exaggeration to my call of "all out killing of rats" pero kasi ang problema sa pinoy, pag hindi mo i-sensationalize, we tend to ignore it.

-RODION

[erwin_rommel]

its nature's way of getting rid of overpopulation. malas lang ang ma timingan

[trickx]

The chances of the plague being here in the phil or cebu is very very slim.. but with the increasing ease of transportation, uL never know.. even if someone in cebu contracts the plague, i'd have to bet he'll probably die before he gets diagnosed.. it's a very uber ultra rare disease.. they don't even teach much of those in med school --- i should know.. but yeah, having a clean environment does lessen the risk.. dramatically..