Articles Comments

America's North Shore Journal » Entries tagged with "plague"

Swine flu is not the only illness

August 25th, 2009 | Comments Off

While the media is focused on pandemic Swine Flu, here along America’s North Shore, we must be wary of other diseases. Here are several articles to remind us all about them. West Nile virus season returns It looks like another wet summer for the Rochester, N.Y. and the Monroe County area. Wet summers mean mosquitoes. Mosquitoes mean the West Nile virus is again a threat in the region. The West Nile virus was first discovered in central Africa in 1937. It was studied and characterized in Egypt in the 1950′s, hence the name. It was first discovered in the United States in 1999, and has been found in every state but Hawaii, Alaska and Oregon. Rabies and upstate wildlife Rabies. The name conjures images of large dogs foaming at the mouth and tearing their victims … Read entire article »

Filed under: Medicine, Original writing

Black Death Strikes China

August 4th, 2009 | Comments Off

Around a dozen cases, 3 deaths, as pneumonic plague kills up its heels in NW China. This is a disease that hygiene can help prevent. Get rid of the rodents and their fleas and plague disappears. Plague is spread in two main forms, pneumonic – which is the form reported in China, and bubonic. Pneumonic plague is spread like many respiratory diseases, by being coughed or sneezed on by a sick person. Bubonic plague can be found in the United States, almost entirely in the Southwest. It is spread by the bites of fleas, usually fleas from rats, mice or other rodents. The number of human cases varies with the natural increases or decreases in rodent populations. The NIH reports 10-20 cases of bubonic plague in the U.S. on average each year. … Read entire article »

Filed under: China, Medicine, Plague

Diseases Found in North America

October 24th, 2007 | Comments Off

Centers for Disease Control The incidence of communicable diseases is such that they are unlikely to prove a hazard for international travelers greater than that found in their own country. There are, of course, health risks, but in general, the precautions required are minimal. Certain diseases occasionally occur, such as plague, rabies in wildlife, including bats, raccoons, foxes, and other wild animals. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic in the southwestern United States and can occur in visitors to the area. Its incidence has increased in Arizona and California in recent years. Histoplasmosis is highly endemic, especially in the Mississippi, Ohio, and St. Lawrence River valleys. Sporadic cases and large outbreaks occur. Cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome have been widely distributed in North America, with the greatest concentration in the western and southwestern United States. Infections … Read entire article »

Filed under: Medicine, Plague

Plague!

May 16th, 2006 | 1 Comment

AP A campground at Natural Bridges National Monument has been closed because of bubonic plague detected among field mice and chipmunks. Plague also has been found this spring in rodent populations at Mesa Verde National Park and Colorado National Monument. Rangers plan to insecticides to kill fleas in the campground area. Humans usually contract bubonic plague after being bitten by fleas that have bitten infected rodents. The campground could be reopened as soon as next week. Plague occurs throughout the West, but is concentrated in the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. An average of 18 cases involving humans are reported each year in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one in seven victims die. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Medicine, Plague, WMD