It has been a wild week or so for health related concerns. Just the other day we warned you about radioactive shrimp, and a bit before that we reported about the “Frankenstein” rabbit sightings popping up in Colorado. Well, here’s another lovely bit of news that may or may not signal one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse; California has its first plague victim in five years.
Thanks to history classes, most everyone knows about the bubonic plague, the black death, etc. After all, it was responsible for reportedly killing almost half of the population of Europe from 1346 to 1353. So when we hear about the plague in modern times, it brings up images of mass death and chaos. The bad news is that the plague is still around. The good news is that we’re better at treating it and understanding it. Which is also good news for the patient who contracted it.
The person possibly contracted the disease while camping in the South Lake Tahoe area. Plague is a bacterial infection, linked to fleas and rodents. A flea bites a rodent, hops to a human, bites them; and there’s the vector for plague. Not all rodents are carriers but there are pockets in the midwest where rodents from mice to prairie dogs have it. It seems like the South Lake Tahoe resident was unlucky enough to have the wrong combination of events happen to become infected. Fortunately they’re being treated with antibiotics and is expected to be fine.
Centuries ago, the death rate from plague was near 90%. Thankfully that isn’t the case now, as treatment pushes the survival rate up to 90%. So it’s still dangerous, just not nearly as bad as it could be. That’s why it’s important to make sure if you are camping, insect repellant and clothing to protect against fleas is important. Additionally, be aware of rodents around your living spaces.
2025 has just been one hell of a year, hasn’t it? Plague, shrimp, Coldplay kiss cams: what’s next?
