NEWS: Black Death 'is lying in wait'

According to researchers, the Black Death which has killed over 200 million people worldwide could strike again at any moment. They theorize that the disease is not triggered by bubonic plague but by a virus.







[Edited on 24-5-2004 by Ocelot]

i thought the black death and bubonic plague were just different names for the same thing?

maybe scientists should work on figuring out what virus makes it active though, and then come up with a cure for that... instead of just waiting for people to catch it.

Hope this helps, (Ebola mutation) Sudan
www.who.int...
Sanc'.

Scary stuff!

i thought the black death and bubonic plague were just different names for the same thing?

It sounds like the reporter was a bit unsure. I was always taught that Bubonic Plague and the Black Death were one and the same. According to most historical accounts, they are the same thing. Bubonic Plague, coming from China in the 1330s...

By the following August, the plague had spread as far north as England, where people called it "The Black Death" because of the black spots it produced on the skin.

Bubonic Plague

According to the article, though, the Black Death may have been caused by a virus that imitates (more or less exactly) the bacterium that causes the bubonic plague.

Personally, I find it a bit far-fetched (although I have been wrong at least once before) that some scientists have just now discovered some virus that does the exact same thing as the accepted, documented cause of the plague. It suggests that the two were working in concert to decimate the population, and that if the virus didn't get you, the bacteria would. It's a tough sell.

Besides, it's scary enough that 1000-3000 people still get bubonic plague every year. It's not lying dormant, it's just attacking fewer people at the moment.

I thought the Black death was Latoya Jackson .

Sorry I couldnt resist

Once in a while we need an infusion of fun.
I though that the black death was caused by poor living and sanitary conditions of the times. And has any sporadic case been around lately?

Originally posted by marg6043
And has any sporadic case been around lately?

Well the article said that between 1000 to 3000 people die of it each year. Not exactly an epidemic now is it?

Same article!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by baked
Same article!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Holy Crap I had no idea you had posted it already. Well Duh since I only checked in the ATSNN forum. Why didnt you submit the story?

It's no biggie! Your intro and commentary was more inviting than mine was anyway.

As to why I didn't submit it ......good question, Guess it sipped my mind.
No big deal either way, feel free to delete mine. Yours is put together better anyway.

Back on topic......
The scary thing about the possibility of this breaking out is, mass transit.
Sure there are vaccines, but enough? I imagine that Africa would be worst hit and less able to vaccinate. I think it could definatly whipe out a good portion of the third world. Hell, China and India would be in big trouble.

During research for a Mediaeval thesis, I discovered that the 'Black Death' is the name (given to the people of the time) to Bubonic Plague. However there were three types of plague around at the same time.
Bubonic Plague, Pneumonic Plague (transmitted by the air) and septicaemic plague (plague-based blood poisoning).
A version of Pneumonic plague could easily be transmitted to a large population, especially with th emodes of transport available to us now. In the 1380's the only transport available was either walk or ride. And still about a third of the population of Europe died.

I don't think their research is that good. Bubonic plague is caused by a bacterium, yersinia pestis. Boccacio's "The Decameron" and other sources make mention of it, and there's no "unknown viral agent" that matches the description.

The "lurking just waiting to strike" is melodramatic and not consistant with disease behavior. A disease needs a host to survive (that's why smallpox was wiped out -- no hosts were left.) Viruses don't sit around for hundreds of years, twiddling their thumbs and waiting to emerge -- this is why there's no risk in paleontologists digging up ancient mammoths or digging up ancient dinosaur bones. Their diseases were specific to them and when they died, the diseases did as well.

I'm voting for "bad research" on this one.

might this be the winds of black death that was being talked about recently concerning terrorism .....??? winds of black death certainly does sound like a air borne illness..........

There's one thing here that doesn't make sense to me. If black plague is a virus you would need a vaccination not antibiotics. Last I heard antibiotics were for killing bacteria not viruses. A true antibiotic is a chemical produced by one microorganism that inhibits or kills other microbes

Hippocrates "Diseases are crises of purification, of toxic elimination. Symptoms are the natural defences of the body. We call them diseases, but in fact they are the cure of diseases."

This article states the origin of the black death is uncertain... Good read.
Biological Warfare at Caffa
Link
www.cdc.gov...

Originally posted by Byrd
I'm voting for "bad research" on this one.

I gotta agree with you on this one, Byrd. There have been three or four cases of plague in the state I live. Simple antibiotics normally do the trick unless left untreated and septicemia (sic) sets in. If this was a viral infection antibiotics would be useless. Since antibiotics are effective it would seem the agent has to be bacterial.

In the article quoted in the original posting, they say it's a virus, but if caught early, could be cured by antibiotics...Since when have antibiotics worked on viruses?

Originally posted by marg6043
Once in a while we need an infusion of fun.
I though that the black death was caused by poor living and sanitary conditions of the times. And has any sporadic case been around lately?

There was a few people with it here in NY about 2 or 3 years ago. I believe they caught the disease while abroad. (IIRC) I'll try to find a link.

Here is a link to the story:
First NYC Bubonic Plague cases in 100 years

Interesting and scary at the same time.

Here you go Facefirst.

Bubonic plague suspected in NYC visitors

A New Mexico couple who traveled to New York have been hospitalized with what is believed to be the first case of bubonic plague in the city in a century, said health officials.

The couple arrived in the city last Friday and went to the hospital two days later with high fever and swollen lymph nodes. The man, 53, is in critical condition and on life support at a Manhattan hospital; his 47-year-old wife is in stable condition, said officials. Both are in isolation at the hospital.

"Today, we are announcing what are likely to be the first cases of bubonic plague in New York City in 100 years," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the health commissioner of New York City.

Tests on the man were "presumptive positive" for the plague, and his wife is suffering from similar symptoms, with tests pending, he said. It could be as long as 48 hours before health officials get official confirmation that the two have the plague, he said.

More:
www.cnn.com...