Plague

spawns/iStock (NEW YORK) — A child in Idaho contracted the plague last year, leaving many wondering how the plague exists in the 21st century. The disease dates back to the Middle Ages, when it killed millions in a Europe, before the age of antibiotics. At the time, they did not realize the plague was carried by the fleas who lived on rats. Although the idea of the plague sounds dire, another “black death” is not coming. The plague, in spite of its lethal reputation, is not uncommon in the U.S. and it is usually no longer a death sentence. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the plague was first introduced in the U.S. in 1900 by rat-infested steamships. It is most common in the western U.S. What is the plague? The plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which is transmitted by fleas. Infected fleas spread the infection to animals, commonly mice, squirrels, prairie dogs and even cats and dogs. Humans get the plague through direct contact with...

(NEW YORK) — A child in Idaho contracted the plague last year, leaving many wondering how the plague exists in the 21st century. The disease dates back to the Middle Ages, when it killed millions in a Europe, before the age of antibiotics. At the time, they did not realize the plague was carried by the fleas who lived on rats. Although the idea of the plague sounds dire, another “black death” is not coming. The plague, in spite of its lethal reputation, is not uncommon in the U.S. and it is usually no longer a death sentence. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the plague was first introduced in the U.S. in 1900 by rat-infested steamships. It is most common in the western U.S. What is the plague? The plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which is transmitted by fleas. Infected fleas spread the infection to animals, commonly mice, squirrels, prairie dogs and even cats and dogs. Humans get the plague through direct contact with infected anim...

A hunter who killed and ate a wild rabbit on the Mongolian steppe contracted bubonic plague, Chinese health officials said Monday, days after two other people from the same region were diagnosed with an even deadlier strain of the disease. The hunter, a 55-year-old man in China's Inner Mongolia, contracted the disease on Nov. 5 and came into contact with 28 people who were subsequently quarantined, Chinese officials said, according to the Associated Press. None of them have shown signs of a fever or other symptoms, the AP reported. The diagnosis comes amid tension in Beijing after two people there were confirmed to have pneumonic plague, prompting concern that health officials waited to disclose the diagnosis of plague's deadliest, exclusively contagious form. Chinese officials said the risk of spreading the disease was "extremely low." The AP reported those two people are from Xilingol League, a rural grassland region southeast of the country of Mongolia. A doc...

This is an excerpt from Second Opinion, a weekly roundup of eclectic and under-the-radar health and medical science news emailed to subscribers every Saturday morning. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by  clicking here . It's not a headline that you expect to see in 2019. But plague is back in the news after China reported three cases of the infectious disease earlier this month. The first cases were recorded in a middle-aged couple from the remote region of Inner Mongolia, who were sent to Beijing for observation after struggling to breathe. The third case emerged last weekend : A hunter from the same region was diagnosed with bubonic plague after catching and eating a wild rabbit. About 28 people who were in close contact with the hunter were also put in quarantine. It's actually the second time this year plague has been found in the region; in May, a Mongolian couple died reportedly after eating raw marmot kidney , leading to a six-day quarantine in...

Bubonic plague found in Wyoming cat, 3rd such infection in 6 months A domesticated cat has become the third feline in six months to be infected with bubonic plague in Wyoming in the Western US. The cat was known to wander the area near its home and, when it showed worrying symptoms, samples were sent for testing. Bubonic plague infection was confirmed by the lab at the University of Wyoming shortly thereafter. The cat fully recovered from the infection, according to a spokesperson for the Wyoming Department of Health, and with modern antibiotics and treatment, plague infections pose no major threat – certainly nothing close to the ‘Black Death’ which wiped out millions of people during the Middle Ages. There have been a total of six human infections with bubonic plague in Wyoming since 1978, the most recent of which was in 2008, while roughly seven people per year contract the plague in the US overall. Significantly more cases of bubonic plague occur in parts of Africa and Asia. “P...

THE plague ravaged across the world hundreds of years ago, claiming the lives of hundreds of millions of people between the 14th and 17th centuries. Now, health officials in China are treating three people with the disease and warning citizens to protect themselves. The plague? It’s an infectious disease caused by a bacteria, Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Humans can be contaminated by either the bite of an infected flea or direct contact with infected materials, or by inhalation. It’s back? It has never been fully eradicated. Between 2010 and 2015 there were 3,248 cases of plague worldwide and the disease caused 584 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There’s an outbreak in China? Three cases have been reported. A middle-aged couple from a rural village, Xilingol League, became infected with pneumonic plague on November 12. A 55-year-old man, from the same village, has become the third person to be diagnosed. He has b...

Rats are known carriers of the plague spreading them via infected fleas. — Reuters pic The 55-year-old is now being isolated and treated at a hospital in Ulanqab . Three countries where the plague still circulates are the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar, and Peru. Pneumonic plague can purchase from bubonic plague and ends in a intense lung an infection producing shortness of breath, headache and coughing. It's considered the most risky because it's highly contagious, easily spread from person to person through cough droplets. The disease can be fatal if not promptly treated. "Recuperation rates are high whenever identified and treated in time (inside 24 hours of beginning of side effects)", World Health Organization noted. Taiwan's health ministry said fleas could transmit the plague to rodents before infecting other animals and humans. The experts also hope that the risk of an outbreak is minima in Inner Mongolia . The individual is from ...

Share on Pinterest Bubonic plague was found in China. Getty Images An outbreak of the bubonic plague in China has led to worry that the “Black Death” could make a significant return. At least three people in China have been diagnosed with the disease. But experts say the disease is not nearly as deadly as it was thanks to antibiotics. This past Saturday, a hunter in China was diagnosed with bubonic plague after catching and eating a wild rabbit. Twenty-eight people who had been in close contact with the hunter are now in quarantine, according to the local health commission . The plague diagnosis comes about a week after the Chinese government announced two other people had contracted pneumonic plague in Beijing — the infamous plague that triggered the Black Death, which wiped out millions of people in Europe in the 14th century. With words like bubonic plague and Black Death circulating in our headlines, some may wonder if the plague is coming for the United States next — ...

(CBS)- Two people in Beijing have been diagnosed with the pneumonic plague, a rare instance of the highly-contagious disease that is fatal if left untreated. The two individuals were being treated Tuesday at a hospital in China's capital city, which is home to more than 21 million people, local authorities said. Pneumonic plague can prove fatal within 24 to 72 hours and is the "most virulent form of plague," according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the bubonic form is less dangerous. The patients are from the northwestern Inner Mongolia province, district officials said in an online statement, adding that the "relevant prevention and control measures have been implemented." The Beijing government did not respond to AFP's calls for comment, but the WHO confirmed that Chinese authorities had notified them about the plague cases. "The (Chinese) National Health Commission are implementing efforts to contain and treat the identified case...

by STEFANIE DYGA | WSBT Staff Hunter in China diagnosed with bubonic plague after eating rabbit // Courtesy of MGN Online 28 people were placed in quarantine in China after a hunter was diagnosed with the bubonic plague, local health officials said. This follows two other patients being diagnosed with pneumonic plague in Beijing last week, the most deadly form of the disease, as the CDC says it's almost always fatal if not treated quickly. According to news media Xinhua , the patient hunted and consumed a wild rabbit on November 5. The CDC says a person usually becomes ill with bubonic plague within one to six days after being infected. Key symptoms include a swollen lymph node, headache, fever, chills and extreme exhaustion. The plague is the same disease that is widely believed to have led to the Black Death, the pandemic that ravaged Europe in the 14th century and killed around 25 million people, according to Britannica. The patient is currently receiving treatme...

C hina says a 55-year-old man has been diagnosed with bubonic plague after killing and eating a wild rabbit, adding to two plague cases already discovered in the capital Beijing. A statement from the health authority in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region north of Beijing said that as of Saturday the man was being treated at a hospital in the city of Huade. It said investigators found the patient from rural Xilingol League consumed the rabbit on November 5. The statement said 28 people who had close contact with the man were quarantined but none has run a fever or shown other plague symptoms. On November 12, two patients also from Xilingol League were diagnosed with pneumonic plague in Beijing. No epidemiological association has been found between the two cases. P lague can be fatal in up to 90% of people infected if not treated, primarily with several types of antibiotics. Pneumonic plague can develop from bubonic plague and results in a severe lung infection ...

A member of the plague prevention team under a local disease control and prevention centre holds rodents on a grassland in Serxu county, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, China, in an Aug. 28, 2019, file photo. CHINA STRINGER NETWORK/Reuters China says a 55-year-old man has been diagnosed with bubonic plague after killing and eating a wild rabbit, adding to two plague cases already discovered in the capital Beijing. A statement from the health authority in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region north of Beijing said that as of Saturday the man was being treated at a hospital in the city of Huade. It said investigators found the patient from rural Xilingol League consumed the rabbit on Nov. 5. Story continues below advertisement The statement said 28 people who had close contact with the man were quarantined but none has run a fever or shown other plague symptoms. On Nov. 12, two patients also from Xilingol League were diagnosed with pneumonic ...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Inner Mongolia reported a fresh, confirmed case of bubonic plague on Sunday, despite an earlier declaration by the country's health officials that the risk of an outbreak was minimal. The health commission of the autonomous region said a 55-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease after he ate wild rabbit meat on 5 November. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague globally and can advance and spread to the lungs, which is a more severe type called pneumonic plague, according to the World Health Organization. The Inner Mongolia case follows two that were confirmed earlier this month in Beijing. In both cases, the two patients from Inner Mongolia were quarantined at a facility in the capital after being diagnosed with pneumonic plague, health authorities said at the time. The Inner Mongolia health commission said it found no evidence so far to link the most recent case to the earlier two cases in Beijing. The patient in Inner Mongol...

Sunday, November 17, 2019 2:38 a.m. CST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Inner Mongolia reported a fresh, confirmed case of bubonic plague on Sunday, despite an earlier declaration by the country's health officials that the risk of an outbreak was minimal. The health commission of the autonomous region said a 55-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease after he ate wild rabbit meat on Nov. 5. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague globally and can advance and spread to the lungs, which is more severe type called pneumonic plague, according to the World Health Organization. The Inner Mongolia case follows two that were confirmed earlier this month in Beijing. In both cases, the two patients from Inner Mongolia were quarantined at a facility in the capital after being diagnosed with pneumonic plague, health authorities said at the time. The Inner Mongolia health commission said it found no evidence so far to link the most recent case to the earlier two cases in Beij...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Inner Mongolia reported a fresh, confirmed case of bubonic plague on Sunday, despite an earlier declaration by the country’s health officials that the risk of an outbreak was minimal. The health commission of the autonomous region said a 55-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease after he ate wild rabbit meat on Nov. 5. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague globally and can advance and spread to the lungs, which is more severe type called pneumonic plague, according to the World Health Organization. The Inner Mongolia case follows two that were confirmed earlier this month in Beijing. In both cases, the two patients from Inner Mongolia were quarantined at a facility in the capital after being diagnosed with pneumonic plague, health authorities said at the time. The Inner Mongolia health commission said it found no evidence so far to link the most recent case to the earlier two cases in Beijing. The patient in Inner Mongolia is now isolate...

Two people in China were diagnosed with a severe and viral form of the plague , according to reports in Chinese media - raising alarms for citizens despite promises from health authorities that control measures are in place. Local health officials confirmed the two cases of pneumonic plague on Tuesday, according to Xinhua News, China's state-run news agency. The two patients, who authorities say received “proper treatment,” hail from China's Inner Mongolia Region. Additional information on the patients and their health status was not available Wednesday, and it's not clear when the cases were identified. Officials told Xinhua that “relevant disease prevention and control measures have been taken.” Caixin, a Chinese financial news outlet, reported that the patients were first treated at the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, which replaced all of the chairs in its emergency room after the patients' arrival. They have since been transferred to another hospital. Download th...