Current status of plague and plague control in the United States

During the first quarter of the 20th century, massive rat-borne plague epidemics occurred in port cities of the United States in conjunction with the last world-wide pandemic which originated in China in 1893. By 1950, plague was found to be firmly established in wild rodent populations in states west of the 100th meridian. Presumably because of improved sanitation coupled with retreat of the world-wide pandemic, there have been no human cases in this country associated with urban rats since 1924. However, sporadic cases, fewer than 10 per year, are reported as due to contact with wild rodents, lagomorphs, rural rats, and/or their fleas. Recent observations suggest that: a) in the current decade there has been an increase in human plague cases; b) there continues to be a serious potential of a single undiagnosed and untreated case, which possibility is intensified by the very paucity of human cases decreasing the likelihood of a correct diagnosis and by changing patterns of life exhibited by members of our society (e.g., hippie communes and a generally increased mobility); and c) the apparent distribution of plague only in the area west of the 100th meridian might be found to represent an unrealistic generalization if adequate surveillance were carried out. At the present time human plague cases from wild animal sources tend to be isolated events both spatially and temporally and often cannot be attributed to confined and definable epizootic sources amenable to effective control programs. Improved means for epizootic control and long-term management of enzootic plague sources must be sought aggressively. These measures should include development of: a) a surveillance network to detect plague activity in rodent and lagomorph populations throughout the western United States; b) effective, yet ecologically sound, means of ectoparasite control, including suitable materials and methods of application; c) methods for management of plague-susceptible wild animal populations, particularly where they exist in contact with high use recreation and residential areas; and d) more extensive knowledge of enzootic plague and the factors that bring about epizootic plague and potential human contact

Yersinia pestis DNA from Skeletal Remains from the 6(th) Century AD Reveals Insights into Justinianic Plague.

Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of the disease plague, has been implicated in three historical pandemics. These include the third pandemic of the 19(th) and 20(th) centuries, during which plague was spread around the world, and the second pandemic of the 14(th)-17(th) centuries, which included the infamous epidemic known as the Black Death. Previous studies have confirmed that Y. pestis caused these two more recent pandemics. However, a highly spirited debate still continues as to whether Y. pestis caused the so-called Justinianic Plague of the 6(th)-8(th) centuries AD. By analyzing ancient DNA in two independent ancient DNA laboratories, we confirmed unambiguously the presence of Y. pestis DNA in human skeletal remains from an Early Medieval cemetery. In addition, we narrowed the phylogenetic position of the responsible strain down to major branch 0 on the Y. pestis phylogeny, specifically between nodes N03 and N05. Our findings confirm that Y. pestis was responsible for the Justinianic Plague, which should end the controversy regarding the etiology of this pandemic. The first genotype of a Y. pestis strain that caused the Late Antique plague provides important information about the history of the plague bacillus and suggests that the first pandemic also originated in Asia, similar to the other two plague pandemics

The Origin of Bubonic Plague

Although some forms of the bacterium Yersinia are harmless, other forms have devastated human populations, causing a plague of biblical proportions (Psalm 91:3-7, Psalm 91:9-10,). Bubonic plague, also known as the ‘Black Death’ that killed one fourth of Europe’s population in the 1300s, appeared as a great pestilence several times in the Old Testament, including in Psalm 91 and in 2 Samuel 24:14-25. Perhaps the clearest example of such a plague is recorded in 1 Samuel 6:4-19, where there is a specific reference to the tumors on people (bubos = the tumors of lymph glands) and to rats (the animal vector that carried the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis.) The biblical time frame for the plagues described in 1 Samuel was about 3,000 years ago.1 Interestingly, experts on plague ‘evolution’ estimate the emergence of Y. pestis at about 1,500-20,000 years ago (within an evolutionary timeframe, of course).

Whip, Whipped, and Doctors: Homer\u27s Illiad and Camus\u27 The Plague

Albert Camus in The Plague gives a pressing, pitilessly clear description of plague conditions:\u27 We are all locked in a city. The gates are closed. The plague rages inside. The only question is, who will die first? This is the situation in Camus\u27 town of Oran; it is also the situation of the Trojans in Homer\u27s Illiad. And finally, it is the situation of human life.\u2

Strategic Pest Management Booklets for Farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal

abstract: When Kaffrine, Senegal, is faced with the threat of a locust plague, farmers tend to struggle with determining what actions and when they should take place to prevent a plague from occurring. The inability of farmers to readily identify the early threats of a locust plague is a primary issue that has been affecting communities in Kaffrine for millennia. Locust plagues affect the functionality of Senegal’s ecosystems, the welfare of its social systems, and the peoples’ economic opportunities. The project focuses on the creation of 300 pest identification booklets that provide five villages in Kaffrine the proper education to prevent locust plagues from forming. I have partnered with the Global Locust Initiative (GLI) to help make these booklets come to fruition as the booklets target the lack of early detection awareness that is at the root of locust plagues. By providing the villages with these booklets, the farmers and community members, will be more educated on how to identify and act on the early threats of a plague. Additional outcomes of creating these booklets are as follows: improved well-being of the farming community, increased millet yields, and enhanced global food system sustainability. As locusts are a migratory pest, it is recommended that more stakeholders are provided the proper educational material to help them identify the early threats of a locust plague to prevent negative externalities from being imposed on the surrounding ecology, individuals, and agriculture

The burning of ships as a sanitary measure two hundred years ago in Malta

Woven throughout Maltese medical history is the constant struggle against the possibility of an invasion of the Maltese Islands by pestilence introduced by plague-infected ships. This is an account of the case histories of three plague-infected ships that came to Malta in the late eighteenth century and were destroyed by burning to eradicate the "contagion" on board.peer-reviewe

Living standards and plague in London, 1560–1665

We use individual records of 920,000 burials and 630,000 baptisms to reconstruct the spatial and temporal patterns of birth and death in London from 1560 to 1665, a period dominated by recurrent plague. The plagues of 1563, 1603, 1625, and 1665 appear of roughly equal magnitude, with deaths running at five to six times their usual rate, but the impact on wealthier central parishes falls markedly through time. Tracking the weekly spread of plague before 1665 we find a consistent pattern of elevated mortality spreading from the same northern suburbs. Looking at the seasonal pattern of mortality, we find that the characteristic autumn spike associated with plague continued into the early 1700s. Given that individual cases of plague and typhus are frequently indistinguishable, claims that plague suddenly vanished after 1665 should be treated with caution. Natural increase improved as smaller plagues disappeared after 1590, but fewer than half of those born survived childhood

Crisis as a plague on organisation: Defoe and A Journal of the Plague Year

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enrich the understanding of current models of organisational response to crises and offer additional perspectives on some of these models. It is also intended to confirm the value of fiction as a truth-seeking and hermeneutic device for enriching the imagination. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses Daniel Defoe’s 1722 novel A Journal of the Plague Year to draw parallels between his portrayal of the London Great Plague of 1665 and the management of modern-day crises. Defoe uses London’s ordeal of the Great Plague to advise those subjected to future crises. Through his representation of plague-ridden streets, Defoe shows stakeholders acting in ways described in current crisis management literature. Findings – The authors note how the management of the Plague crisis was unsuccessful and they challenge the very idea of managing a true crisis. The authors are able to illustrate and offer refinements to the Pearson and Clair (1998) and Janes (2010) models of crisis management as well as confirming the value of their constructs across a lapse of centuries. Research limitations/implications – Although it is an examination of a single novel, the findings suggest value in conceptualising organisational crises in innovative and more imaginative ways. Originality/value – It confirms the heuristic value of using fiction to understand organisational change and adds value to current model