Biohazard in Tibet
By blog on Aug. 23, 2009.
What’s more of a biohazard than Plague? Pneumonic Plague, to be precise, which is even more deadly that the Bubonic Plague has been confirmed in a village in Tibet.
This shocked me, to be honest. I had thought that diseases like that had been largely eradicated, I mean, small pox has been, there are only two places on the planet where this disease still exists, in the U.S. at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in Russia at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (VECTOR). I was surprised that something similar is not possible with Pneumonic Plague, but in light of the fact that it is carried by rats and marmots, and the fleas and ticks that have been on those animals. Once a person has been infected, they are able to spread the disease via coughing – as it is air borne – and the like.
The disease can be treated, within the first 24 hours if antibiotics are administered survival chances are very good. Thankfully, authorities acted quickly in Ziketan town in Xinghai, and whilst three lost their lives, at least 9 who were also infected survived. Without those antibiotics, the disease has an almost 100% fatality rate… That is astounding to me, humans are still at the mercy of such things if we don’t have access to the appropriate health care. The Worldwide Health Organisation stated that China had done the right thing in the most recent outbreak, and that the country had had some experience in dealing with this particular disease. It’s good to know that authorities are on the case, and that with education the infection of humans could be vastly diminished…
I know this is a rather dour subject, but I think this sort of thing is important to know. I think that we ought to be aware just how far we’ve come, and to not take for granted that which we have. When the Bubonic and Pneumonic Plagues swept through Europe in the 12th Century, somewhere between a quarter and a half of the entire population died. All in all, around 200 million lives have been lost to the Bubonic Plague, this is a massive piece of our global history, so when it’s cousin is popping up again, it’s something we should take serious note of.
Category: life