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At least three cases of the plague have been reported in the United States, with infections confirmed in New Mexico, California, and Arizona. Infectious disease specialists noted that a handful of plague cases are diagnosed each year. The bacterium responsible, Yersinia pestis, is transmitted by fleas and cycles naturally among rodents. At least three cases of the plague have been reported in the United States, with infections confirmed in New Mexico, California, and Arizona. (WKRC, file, Provided) "If a person is around these rodents where the fleas are, the fleas can jump off the rodents, get on the person, and...

Officials believe an infected flea bit the sick person, who was camping in the South Lake Tahoe area.Health officials in California identified a positive case of plague in a Lake Tahoe resident. El Dorado County officials said in a release that they have notified the California Department of Health that a resident from South Lake Tahoe has plague. The person is recovering at home and is receiving medical care, the El Dorado County release said. No other information about the person or the person's condition was released. Officials believe an infected flea bit the sick person, who was camping in...

The unidentified patient, from Coconino County, showed up to the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Department and died there the same day, Northern Arizona Healthcare said in a statement. It is unclear when the death occurred. The hospital noted that "appropriate initial management" and "attempts to provide life-saving resuscitation" was performed, but "the patient did not recover." Rapid diagnostic testing led to a presumptive diagnosis of Yersinia pestis. Coconino County Health and Human Services said testing results confirmed Friday that the patient died from pneumonic plague, described as “a severe lung infection caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium.” This marked the...

...there are still many in academia who claim that changes to the climate and the outbreak of plague were catastrophic for the eastern Roman Empire... Our findings reveal that there was no decline in the 6th century, but rather a new record in population and trade in the eastern Mediterranean...Previous research claimed that this site declined in the middle of the 6th century... The decline only started in the 7th century.Large-scale data included new databases compiled using archaeological survey, excavation and shipwreck finds. The survey and excavation databases, which were made up of tens of thousands of sites, were used...

French police are investigating a suspicious letter addressed to the interior minister that tested positive for the plague. Discovered at a mail-sorting centre near Dijon, the letter was addressed to the town hall of Roubaix, in the north of France outside Lille, for the attention of Gérald Darmanin, the minister of the interior. Police were called when the unstamped envelope, with undisclosed “inscriptions” on its back, roused suspicions among workers. Inside, they discovered a black powder and a letter containing racist insults.

Sworn to secrecy by the Japanese Imperial Army, Hideo Shimizu carried the horrors he saw at the notorious Unit 731 facility with him for more than 70 years. The 93-year-old was just 14 when he was drafted as a cadet to the city of Harbin, in what was then Japanese-occupied Manchuria, during World WaR 2. There, he was groomed to take part in some of history's worst atrocities - human experiments carried out on prisoners of war including pregnant women and small children. More than 3,000 people - mostly Chinese civilians, but also Russian, British and American POWs - were...

A New Mexico man has died of complications from the bubonic plague as state health officials scramble to assess the ongoing risk in the region. The unidentified Lincoln Country resident had been hospitalized recently with the bacterial affliction, although the details surrounding how he contracted it and how his health deteriorated remain unclear, the state Department of Health (NMDOH) announced Friday. Despite medics’ best efforts, the patient succumbed to his symptoms, marking New Mexico’s first recorded case of bubonic plague since 2021. This was also the state’s first BP-related fatality since 2020; the state recorded four cases of the disease...

The first case of a deadly bubonic plague in eight years in the US state of Oregon is believed to have come from a cat. According to health officer Richard Fawcett, the patient got "very sick" after catching the disease from her pet. The illness starts as something that seems like the flu with symptoms such as tiredness and a headache, but in this case, it led to an unusual abscess known as a "bubo". The good news is that antibiotics can successfully treat the bubonic plague if caught early enough. The woman is now believed to be in recovery...

A resident in Oregon has been infected with the state's first instance of bubonic plague since 2015, according to Fox News Digital. The report noted that the individual was likely infected with the plague by their pet cat. Dr. Richard Fawcett, the Deschutes County health officer, said in a recent release that "[a]ll close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and provided medication to prevent illness." Officials familiar with the situation said there was little chance that the infection could present an issue for the community since it was treated in the earlier stages of the...

An Oregon resident has been infected with the state’s first case of bubonic plague since 2015, health officials said last week. The resident was likely infected with plague by their symptomatic pet cat, Deschutes County Health Services said in a news release on Wednesday. "All close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and provided medication to prevent illness," Dr. Richard Fawcett, the Deschutes County health officer, said in the release without identifying the infected resident. Officials said there was little risk to the community since the case was identified and treated in the earlier stages of...

The Black Death’s reign of terror lasted for more than 400 years. By culling up to 50% of the population of Europe, the Great Plague guaranteed its place in the history books. Yet while accounts of the Black Death have focused graphically on those who died, the stories of those who survived have gone untold. Until now. The Riddle of the Plague Survivors focuses on those who walked away unaffected. Could this village be the first example of quarantining to avoid disease? How could anyone survive in the face of what is described as one of the most pathogenic bacterial...

Harvard University hosted graduation celebrations for certain identity groups in 2023 but excluded Jews. The now-deleted "Affinity Celebrations for Graduates" page on Harvard's website boasts events for "Graduates with Disabilities," "Indigenous Graduates," "Latinx Graduates," "LGBTQ+ Graduates," "Arab Graduates," "Black Graduates," and more. "Affinity celebrations are student-led, staff supported events that recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of graduates from historically marginalized communities," the web page stated. "These University-wide celebrations provide an opportunity for graduates to honor those who have helped them achieve their milestone while centering their cultural traditions and values." According to the website, the celebrations "are made possible by...

Black women of African descent were more likely to die of the medieval plague in London, academics at the Museum of London have found. The study is the first archaeological exploration showing how racism influenced a person's risk of death during what was known as the Great Pestilence or Great Mortality. The research is based on 145 individuals from three cemeteries. The outbreak is believed to have claimed the lives of 35,000 Londoners. Data on bone and dental changes of the 145 individuals from East Smithfield emergency plague cemetery, St Mary Graces and St Mary Spital formed the basis of...

Surrounded by fires, parched by drought, and shut down by the pandemic – residents of California’s scenic South Lake Tahoe thought they’d endured everything. That was until this week, when the US Forest Service announced it was closing several popular sites after discovering bubonic plague in the chipmunk population. The federal agency announced this week that “based on positive plague tests” in the rodent population around hiking areas, it would close the well-trafficked Taylor Creek Visitor Center and nearby Kiva Beach through Friday. The closure includes some of the region’s most spectacular hiking spots, which meander through forested glades speckled...

Cases of plague have been confirmed in animals and fleas in six counties in Colorado — including where a 10-year-old girl died earlier this month after suffering plague-like symptoms, according to a report. Lab tests confirmed the disease in fleas in La Plata County, where the tragic girl lived, according to CBS 4 Denver. Plague was also detected in San Miguel, El Paso, Boulder, Huerfano and Adams counties, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment told the outlet.

A bubonic plague outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen several dozen people succumb to the long-feared disease, which caused Europe’s Black Death pandemic in the 14th century. Multiple cases of the plague were identified in the Biringi area of Ituri Province in northeastern DR Congo between November 15 and December 13, Anne Laudisoit of New York-based NGO, Ecohealth Alliance, told AFP. At least 520 people have become ill and “more than 31” of them have died, Ituri Health Minister Patrick Karamura told the outlet. The vast majority of cases involved bubonic plague, with the exception of five...

While the COVID-19 pandemic has not ceased, the bubonic plague continues to rage in Inner Mongolia. Now a suspected case of bubonic plague has also been reported in Yunnan Province. The local area has activated a “level 4” alert for plague prevention, and has conducted massive testing on patients with fever.The Plague Prevention and Control Headquarters of Menghai county, Yunnan Province issued a notice on Sept. 25, reporting that mice with unknown causes of death were found in Bianyuan village of Xiding township, Menghai county. The mice were tested by the Provincial Endemic Disease Prevention and Control Center and the...

In the Middle Ages, the plague caused tens of millions of deaths in Europe in a series of outbreaks known as the Black Death. And while it's extremely rare in modern times, the deadly bacterial infection is still around today — but how likely are you to catch it? This week, California reported its first case of plague in five years. The patient, a resident of the South Lake Tahoe area, is said to be recovering at home. And in July, a 15-year-old boy in western Mongolia died of bubonic plague that he contracted from an infected marmot. According to...

(South Lake Tahoe, CA) - El Dorado County health officials have been notified by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) that a South Lake Tahoe resident has tested positive for plague. The individual is currently under the care of a medical professional and is recovering at home. It's believed that the person, an avid walker, may have been bitten by an infected flea while walking their dog along the Truckee River Corridor north of Highway 50 or the Tahoe Keys area in South Lake Tahoe. Health officials are investigating the situation. According to El Dorado County Public Health Officer,...

While the WHO declares that there is nothing to worry about, China is sealing off entire villages and a man died in New Mexico from a rare form of the plague that once killed off half the world population. China sealed off several villages in Inner Mongolia in a second attempt to contain the spread of a new outbreak of bubonic plague. A man died in the region’s city of Bayannur from multiple organ failure after contracting the disease. Authorities in Bayannur said: “The place of residence of the deceased is locked down, and a comprehensive epidemiological investigation is being...