Giant Asian Gerbils May Have Caused the Black Death 65
Dave Knott writes: Rats, long believed to be the scourge that brought the Black Death to 14th-century Europe, may not be the disease-bearing scoundrels we thought they were. Scientists have shifted blame for the medieval pandemic responsible for millions of deaths to a new furry menace: giant gerbils from Asia. University of Oslo researchers, working with Swiss government scientists, say a "pulse" of bubonic plague strains arrived sporadically from Asia. They posit the Yersinia pestis bacterium was likely carried over the Silk Road via fleas on the giant gerbils during intermittent warm spells. The fleas could have then transmitted the disease to humans. The Black Death is believed to have killed up to 200 million people in Europe. Though very rare today, cases of the plague still arise in Africa, Asia, the Americas and parts of the former Soviet Union, with the World Health Organization reporting 783 cases worldwide in 2013, including 126 deaths.
Oblig (Score:3, Funny)
"Yeah, gerbils can really be a pain in the ass." - Richard Gere
Re: (Score:1)
Actually, that quote would probably come form the gerbil's description of Rich. Rich apparently had the opposite view.
Re: Oblig (Score:1)
"Armageddon!!!"
Who am I kidding, none of you younguns will have heard that one....
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Well, I hope he learned to be more careful with what he orders on Silk Road.
I doubt it. (Score:5, Funny)
GOUSes? I don't think they exist.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't always own a deadly pet (Score:1)
but when I do, I prefer gerbils.
Title specially made for trolls? (Score:2)
There must be a million jokes to be made with that title.
Re: (Score:1)
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There must be a million jokes to be made with that title.
Like maybe, In Other News:
"Microscopic Rabbits Caused the Irish Potato Famine"
and
Forrest Whittaker Is Really A Mutant Hamster
Easy targets (Score:2, Offtopic)
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Yeah, they've gotten more visibility since the Kia comercials.
If there's any justice in the world.. (Score:3)
...then there's a Giant Rat of Sumatra joke in there somewhere.
Parts of the former Soviet Union (Score:2)
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Kazahstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan - probably mostly those "parts of the former Soviet Union". Definitely not eastern Europe, and not Russia.
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A Pandemic?? (Score:2)
Giant Asian Gerbils or ... (Score:1)
Giant Space Hamsters?
- Minsc
Re:Giant Asian Gerbils or ... (Score:4, Funny)
Go for the eyes Boo!
Re: (Score:1)
For all your Minsc and Boo related goodness, I've found this site to be quite helpful.
http://www.minscandboo.com/
Is that anything ... (Score:1)
... like giant space hamsters? How many hit dice do they have?
so not only and ancient disease? (Score:2)
Gerbils or Rats being the introduction vector is probably not so important as the way it was maintained during the oubreaks, I found more interesting that we still can find hundreds of cases and dozens of deaths by the plague nowadays
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When I was growing up in the American Southwest, we were taught "don't play with dead animals." Half dozen people a year would catch the plague, and a fair fraction of them from some dead animal. We even learned the types of plague.
Visiting home for the holidays recently, on the news in one week were hanta and plague infections of humans, and a anthrax killing cows. Just goes to show how when you visit home, it's like stepping back in time to the '70s. The 1370's.
Re:so not only and ancient disease? (Score:5, Interesting)
Plague is endemic to the prairie dogs of the Four Corners area of the US (where NM, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet). Every year it gets transmitted to a few people. Presumably early diagnosis and antibiotics will take care of it, but occasionally it will go missed until too late.
Of bigger concern in that area is hantavirus.
I see a pattern (Score:2)
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I could say the same for Earth
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In Middle Ages Europe, if something was "made in China" it meant almost on-one could afford it.
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GAG (Score:2)
a rat by any other name (Score:2)
is still a rat!
Rats are still the reason. (Score:4, Informative)
This pandemic is generally understood as the consequence of a singular introduction of Yersinia pestis, after which the disease established itself in European rodents over four centuries.
The microbe lived in the damned rats for 400 years. The rats are responsible for black death. The article merely claims the microbe originated in Asia and was introduced to Europe via gerbils on the land route.
writing from memory, any errors mine, not the article's:
Original theory was that the microbes could not survive the cold climates and long distance travel of the silk road. But the direct sea route shortened the journey and provided a warmer passage. Thus the black death microbe traveled on rats on ships. This article moves the date of introduction of the microbe to 1347 CE, at least 130 years before Barthalomiyo (sp?) Diaz rounded cape of storms, and Vasco Da Gama reached India.
R.O.U.S. (Score:3)
Rodents of Unusual Size.
I don't think they exist.
Giant Gerbils?! (Score:2)
the actual story (Score:2)
The theory is that certain changes in regional climate brought the giant gerbils in contact with the trade on the Silk Road on average about 15 or so years before a major plague epidemic and bad things happened.
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They are actually called great gerbils (Score:4, Informative)
Here is the Wikipedia page in case you want to learn more or see some pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G... [wikipedia.org]
What's the difference? (Score:1)
giant hamsters have more white meat.
Who says bobcat goldwaithe isn't funny?
LOL ... w00t? (Score:2)
I, for one, welcome our new giant, plague-carrying gerbil overlords.
That is one crazy headline.
Cliff Claven was right! (Score:1)
Bubon was the common name for giant gerbils in the 14th century.
"You know, there's a lot of misunderstanding about rats. The rodendus vermikitis as they're called in Latin. It turns out our long tailed friend wasn't after all responsible for the dreaded bubonic plague as alleged through history. Yes, sir. It was caused by an animal called the bubon. That's right, and the threat by the way is still with us. So if anyone does see a bubon, contact your local authorities." - Cliff Clavin