Plague Confirmed in Oregon Man

Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages, infected man bitten by stray cat. CBC News

Health officials have confirmed that an Oregon man has the plague after he was bitten while trying to take a dead rodent from the mouth of a stray cat. The unidentified man, who is in his 50s, remained in critical condition Friday at a Bend hospital. His illness marks the fifth case of plague in Oregon since 1995.
State public health veterinarian Dr. Emilio DeBess says the man was infected when he was bitten by the stray his family had befriended. The cat died and its body is being sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing.

Karen Yeargain, communicable disease coordinator for Crook County, said the sick man lives in rural area outside the Central Oregon city of Prineville.

DeBess, who is in Prineville investigating, said test results confirmed what officials had suspected, that the man had become infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages.

Thought I'd make a thread confirming the man from Oregon got the Plague.
Any thoughts?

reply to post by knoledgeispower

meh..won't antibiotics have him up and running in week? I don't think much of this..

reply to post by knoledgeispower
That's pretty scary,I somehow pictured this man covered in the gross stuff that grows on your teeth so I would change the spelling of your title you have plaque instead of plague,

He should have flossed. Now its too late.

Though this disease possesses the potential to be very harmful, I would remind everyone that it was a different time from the historic black death epidemic that swept across Europe.

Some critical factors are missing from our modern world allow such a disease to become so wide spread.
-Living conditions were terrible
-personal hygiene was a bi-monthly occurrence
-Spread of vast populations of rats (though theory contested)
-lack of medical knowledge and treatment
-Piling the infected dead in the streets probably didnt help either.

These reasons, but not limited to, are which contributed to the havoc wrecked by this disease.

I wont argue that cesspools don’t exist, but our ability to isolate treat and implement preventative measures is infinitely greater then Europe during the time of the black death. But for a disease to continue to be a threat hundreds of years after its supposed elimination is a scary thought. Has it adapted to modern antibiotics?

I did a paper on the plague a few years ago.. if i remember right, the pneumonic strain is much more contagious and kills a higher percentage of people.. now, today of course we can cure it pretty easy, BUT... if this version mutates or just starts spreading like the flu there could be some problems.
Over crowded hospitals, or a shortage of antibiotics or even the plague becoming resistant to antibiotics could be bad.

Example:

""When we identified the first Y. pestis strain resistant to multiple antibiotics, we warned that if this type of strain spreads or emerges again, it would pose a serious health problem" says co-author Elisabeth Carniel, head of the Yersinia Research Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. "The discovery that the multiresistance plasmid acquired by the plague bacillus is widespread in environmental bacteria reinforces this warning".

There have been many plague epidemics in human history, and Y. pestis is believed to have killed an estimated 200 million people. Plague is now regarded as a re-emerging disease, with small outbreaks all over the world. Because plague is often fatal, Y. pestis is a potential agent for bioterrorism. There is no vaccine, but antibiotics are useful for treatment and for preventing the disease's spread. The researchers observe, "Our data imply that high levels of MDR in the causative agent of plague may rapidly evolve naturally, and present a vital biomedical, public health, and biodefense threat." "

whole story www.sciencedaily.com...

Thread already here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

"The Plague" is found every year.. and some places in the US just naturally are hospitable to its growth. The fleas off of and the rodents are tested regularly in many places.. like my hometown of New Orleans where plague is commonly found, but rarely in humans. I do believe there was a plague warning in the Southwest a while back.. again, found in rodents.

Originally posted by TWILITE22
reply to post by knoledgeispower

 

That's pretty scary,I somehow pictured this man covered in the gross stuff that grows on your teeth so I would change the spelling of your title you have plaque instead of plague,

Nah, the man swallowed one of these:

Originally posted by MDDoxs
Though this disease possesses the potential to be very harmful, I would remind everyone that it was a different time from the historic black death epidemic that swept across Europe.

Some critical factors are missing from our modern world allow such a disease to become so wide spread.
-Living conditions were terrible
-personal hygiene was a bi-monthly occurrence
-Spread of vast populations of rats (though theory contested)
-lack of medical knowledge and treatment
-Piling the infected dead in the streets probably didnt help either.

These reasons, but not limited to, are which contributed to the havoc wrecked by this disease.

I wont argue that cesspools don’t exist, but our ability to isolate treat and implement preventative measures is infinitely greater then Europe during the time of the black death. But for a disease to continue to be a threat hundreds of years after its supposed elimination is a scary thought. Has it adapted to modern antibiotics?

edit on 15-6-2012 by MDDoxs because: (no reason given)

edit on 15-6-2012 by MDDoxs because: (no reason given)

Rats got such a bad rep from the plague. It was the fleas on the rats that carried the plague and the rats carried the plague on their backs spreading across Europe.

So essentially in this day and age if you combine flea's/animals, overcrowded hospitals and busy places where there is a large amount of people breathing in the same air (airplanes, transit, shopping centers), and weakend immune systems then there could be an outbreak kind of like with Swine flu.

For it to survive as long as it has does make me wonder how mutated it has gotten over the years and how much of a resisantce to antiobiotics does it have?

& of course I can't help but also think maybe, small chance but totally plausable, another thing unleashed by TPTB to help decrease the population.

In my small town, our hospital is overcrowded and low on staff, it wouldn't be too good to have a plague going around. Lots of seniors and children.

Dude was sick just because he tried to take that poor cats' food.

Originally posted by RealSpoke

interesting.
I also couldn't help but notice that it sounded like bits and pieces were put together, omitting other information.

It's interesting how it all starts off with simple good intentions and then with power it gets crazy and sometimes all hell breaks loose.

reply to post by knoledgeispower


Since having the plague is not really a big deal anymore. I want to focus on another issue.
Why was the man trying to take a dead rodent out of a stray cat's mouth?

Originally posted by Alexander the Great
reply to post by knoledgeispower

 

Since having the plague is not really a big deal anymore. I want to focus on another issue.
Why was the man trying to take a dead rodent out of a stray cat's mouth?

obviously he wasn't thinking. I was taught never to touch anything dead or get attacked by things that can carry things like rabies and such.

reply to post by MDDoxs


Wouldnt a huge increase in population make it just as easy to spread?

I know we are a lot cleaner now but its still out there and as seen in this case, is still transmittable!!

The cat died but where did the mouse go and possible fleas??

When I was in basic training in the Army back in 1982, we all had to get Plague shots.
It made a big ol' plague pox on my arm. On everyone's arm.
I'm wondering if that shot is still any good or if it needed a booster at some point.
Anyone know??