Woman in Los Angeles catches Black Death – World – Times Online — Ugh.
The woman probably caught the disease after being bitten by infected fleas in her home, said Dr Jonathan Fielding, the county’s director of public health.
Humans usually catch plague – known in medieval Europe as the Black Death – from the bites of fleas infected by dead rats. Bubonic plague is not itself contagious, but if left untreated it can morph into pneumonic plague, which can be spread from person to person.
Que David…
Well, sure, she caught bubonic plague from local fleas, but did they have visas or were they ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FLEAS?
I’ve already heard talk of building a tiny wall to keep those creatures from crossing the border. It’s just a shame that it takes a tragedy like this to bring such an important issue to the fore.
Bring out yer dead!
Good lord, this was last night’s episode of HOUSE.
Did you know that the dudes with the scary masks use those lances to poke boils and make all the stuff inside come out? Gross. When I get the plague, they better stay away from me.
1. You guys are screwed.
2. Gary, your a moron.
3. Thank god it’s a bacterial disease; easily cureable.
4. LOL! http://img369.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wtfcopy5xg.jpg
one hates to *ahem* pick nits, but in Medieval Europe, it was not known as the ‘Black Plague’ that terminology was a later invention, 16th century I believe. It was known as ‘The Great Mortality’ in Europe and ‘The Year of Annihilation’ in the Islamic world.
No kidding. Seeing the headline today, i was thinking the producers of House planned this. Kind of ironic that House would have an episode about the plague and then the media reports on one?? Seems to strange to be a coincidence.
#2 – Speedy Gonzales brought them in. 🙂
Clue: plague is found in places all over the Southwestern US, and is carried by ground squirrels as well as rats and mice. This isn’t news.
No worries guys, House already solved this case.
Apparently Locke isn’t a fan of Monty Python…
“I’m getting better!”
“No you’re not, you’ll be stone dead in a moment!”
Props for the nice screen capture, though!
Cure for Black/Bubonic Plague :Two fresh eyes of newt simmered
briskly with one toe of dog, hair of bat, tongue of frog, and wail of
brat. simmer for 15 minutes, or until the stench gaggs the neighbors.
Pick out the eyes, and swallow while still hot with a good swig of stolen
rum by the light of a dying moon. Rub the remaining ingredients on
any buboes you’ve developed (A little rum there wouldn’t hurt either),
Run (or wobble) widdershins around the nearest willow tree chanting
OUT LOUD “I’ll never eat rat again” at least 3 times. The more the
better. Go home and sleep it off ,or go to the local hospital if you have
insurance, or go quietly with the police if they’ve been watching all of this. But don’t let them kiss you or anything, just in case. If you chose to go to the hospital and you don’t live far enough west that they see a
few cases every year, do set up a betting pool as to how many hours
and minutes it will take them to diagnose it. Could be days. jh
#13 Joanne, I’m pretty sure that recipe is straight out of an old Julia Child cookbook (didn’t she recommend foie gras for the appetizer?), but in the unlikely event I’m mistaken, that sounds downright terrific. I sure hope you’re working on something for the avian flu.
The CDC has three employees that do nothing but travel the US and burn huge piles of plague infested squirrels. Problem is they should have a hundred.
What do I call the Black Plague in California? A good start.
[Insert Rimshot Here]
Now my brother lives in Great Cal, and he said everything bad dies
from sunshine and positive peer pressure out there. Unless you’re
in a gang of course, and we won’t talk about that. And I would really think it would be easy to get in to see a plastic surgeon with all of
those unsightly buboes all over you. I didn’t think they allowed ugly out there. I thought that was what the midwest was for.
And actually there is a cure for avian flu. It involves aged hagis, aged in oak and rare single malt scotch, mind you. Something you have to prepare for in advance as Walgreens doesn’t carry it. The world is
depending on the Scots to save civilization as we know it. jh
#16 Andrewj – Who rats on the squirrels? Can I have a job? jh
Man That is terrible and Scary!!!