Black Death Discovered In Oregon 404
redletterdave writes "The Black Death, a strain of bubonic plague that destroyed nearly a third of Europe's entire population between 1347 and 1369, has been found in Oregon. Health officials in Portland have confirmed that a man contracted the plague after getting bitten by a cat. The unidentified man, who is currently in his 50s, had tried to pry a dead mouse from a stray cat's mouth on June 2 when the cat attacked him. Days later, fever and sickness drove the man to check himself into Oregon's St. Charles Medical Center, where he is currently in 'critical condition.'"
stupid (Score:5, Informative)
Bring out your dead! (Score:5, Informative)
While an exciting headline, certain to raise the blood pressure of the angst brigade, this isn't terribly newsworthy. Bubonic plague has been found in animals (mostly prairie dogs in Colorado) for decades and apparently is the sixth case of plague in Oregon since 1995. It's easy to treat with antibiotics. The hardest part is actually thinking that Yersinia pestis is the causative organism.
Bonus points for Monty Python addicts.
Biggest question... (Score:5, Informative)
Really though, from TFA:
it is treatable with antibiotics
the bacteria thrives in forests, grasslands and any wooded areas inhabited by rats and squirrels
Without the help of modern medicine, Europeans in the Middle Ages could do little to combat the plague.
So this is a bacterium that is common in the wild, which can be contracted by humans but is treatable with modern medicine. It is not as though we are facing another plague here...
This is hardly news. (Score:5, Informative)
Bubonic plague has been endemic (sustaining itself permanently, in this case in the animal population) in the western part of the US for years, although it is news to public health officials when a human contracts it. There was a case two years ago, also in Oregon.
The reason it doesn't sweep the nation the way it swept Europe is advances in hygiene, public health and medical treatment. Rats and fleas in the house aren't unheard of these days, but they're no longer universal. If people are getting bit by fleas they'll call the exterminator or the board of health; they won't just accept it as a fact of life. If they contract plague they'll go to the doctor who will cure it relatively easily.
Sensationalized article (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:2, Informative)
Because it could be a weakened mouse that has eaten rat poison, and then the cat dies if not treated with vitamin K to stop the internal hemorrhage.
I've lost several cats because of this issue.
Not a big deal. (Score:2, Informative)
Exactly this. In the Southwestern US there is a case of plague every couple of years. Not a big deal unless it isn't diagnosed and treated rapidly. It probably shows up in other areas of the world as well.
Re:Biggest question... (Score:5, Informative)
Good thing that bacteria cant become resistant to antibiotics, right?
Bacteria that spread from human to human can evolve antibiotic resistance relatively quickly. Bacteria that spread primarily from animal to animal, especially if those animals are wild, are much less likely to evolve resistance. I don't think we are going to start giving antibiotics to prairie dogs.
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:5, Informative)
The summary specifies it was a stray cat. Who the hell tries to pry open the mouth of a stray cat? You have no idea what kinds of bacteria, viruses, or other nasty infectious things are living in a stray cat's mouth.
Although we certainly know now.
Re:Obligatory LOLcat ref (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:2, Informative)
How insightful of you. I bet you knew that right out of your ass: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_condoms [wikipedia.org] (yes, five hundred years IS evolutionarily significant, although perhaps not enough so for us to all grow teeth on our penises)
Non story (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:2, Informative)
Except the appropriate onomatopoeia is woosh. A swoosh is the symbol on Nike gear.
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:5, Informative)
You probably mean Arthur C Clarke who many think 'invented' the geosynchronous satellite...or brought it into the public arena.
No idea if he smoked pot though.
Re:Not a big deal. (Score:4, Informative)
My brother-in-law is a veterinarian in southeast Utah, and he found one of those "every few years" cases of bubonic plague a few years back. He told me the same thing - a case pops up every few years.
Re:Sensationalized article (Score:5, Informative)
More than that... (Score:5, Informative)
From the linked article:
Even though there are about seven cases of the Black Plague in the U.S. each year, most cases have been in the West and the Southweset, the bacterium is considerably less fatal than it once was. According to the CDC, 1 in 7 cases are fatal, but the disease can now be treated with antibiotics.
I know, I know I'm not supposed to read the article...
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:4, Informative)
Civil infraction 27-5 against county Code 54.2.1 Hiding your pot in a fake mouse is a mistreatment in this county.
$350.00 fine or 2 days in jail.
There is your citation, you can pay it at the county clerks office.
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The same axiom applies. (Score:4, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Darwin in action. (Score:4, Informative)
If you can survive and reproduce, you aren't genetically defective.