The Bubonic Plague is Back, Turns Out it Never Left
I'll admit, before reading this article, I was entirely ignorant in regards to the current status of the bubonic plague. I was under the impression that the bubonic plague was eradicated after "The Black Death" had wiped out all of Europe in the 1300's. But I've come to learn that's not entirely true. Yes, it killed as many as 30 million people during that time. But it was eventually shut down thanks to a series of witch doctors wearing orgy masks and top hats who wielded long wizard staffs and painted scary red X's over the front doors of plague affected homes. That was the only cure.
Or maybe it just slowed down because they learned how to quarantine. It's hard to say what was more effective.
Either way, the plague never completely left. Turns out the black plague stills shows up every now and then. Most recently a resident of Oregon came down with a nasty case of plague. It was apparently passed on to her via cat. The resident is currently being treated. The cat is dead. RIP Mr. Sniffles.
AP - Officials in central Oregon this week reported a case of bubonic plague in a resident who likely got the disease from a sick pet cat.
The infected resident and the resident’s close contacts have all been provided medication, public health officials say, and people in the community are not believed to be at risk. The cat was also treated but did not survive.
Plague isn’t common, but it also isn’t unheard of in the western United States, where a handful of cases occur every year. It’s different from Alaskapox, a rare, recently discovered disease that killed a man in Alaska last month.
I was a bit surprised to learn that the plague was still around at all. I know that probably makes me an uneducated idiot, but when I heard the bubonic plague was in Oregon, my initial thought was, "oh wow so we're all going to die". But I don't think that's what happens anymore. If so, I'd imagine it would be way more in the news. The plague has grown weak in it's older years. It's kind of embarrassing really. Turns out if you just grab some antibiotics and keep your door shut for a period of time you're going to be fine. You don't even need an orgy mask doctor. Although I must say, if I ever come down with a case of plague, I would like to be visited by one. I would like whoever brings me my antibiotics to be wearing the full costume. Something with a sizable beak.
That would make me feel a lot better about my chances of survival.
There's about 7 plague cases per year, but we seem to have it under control. You might lose a cat or two, but cats die die all the time. Honestly from the few articles I've read today, it sounds like cats are the ones who we have to be worried about plague-wise.
According to Oregon Health Authority, the plague is rare in the state, with the last case being reported in 2015. In the U.S., an average of 7 cases of human plague are reported each year, according to the CDC, and about 80% of them are the bubonic form of the disease. Most of those cases were in the rural western and southwestern U.S.
A welder in central Oregon contracted it in 2012 when he pulled a rodent out of his choking cat’s mouth in 2012 — he survived but lost his fingertips and toes to the disease. A Colorado teen contracted a fatal case while hunting in 2015, and Colorado officials confirmed at least two cases last year — one of them fatal.
So be careful around cats. If Garfield comes through your backdoor with a rat in it's throat, make sure you throw on a pair of gloves before pulling it out. Your cat is probably already fucked, but at least you won't be one of the 7 people in 2024 who gets fucked by a millennium old disease.