The Plague, You Say?

4:17 am EST November 10th, 2007 | News | 6 Comments

Can someone explain why this isn’t even a full story? The last time I checked the plague was a big deal.

A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park probably died from the plague through his exposure to wild animals that can carry the disease, the National Park Service said. Eric York, 37, was found dead in his home Nov. 2. Health officials in Arizona warned in September that the plague appeared to be on the rise.

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6 Responses to “The Plague, You Say?”

  1. Mark Barton says:
    November 10, 2007 at 8:04 am

    A colleague from New Mexico once explained that plague is endemic in the animal population there and they typically lose a few tourists a year to it. Apparently the earliest symptoms are rather flu-like and it’s easily curable with a shot at that point, so it’s not a big deal to the locals – if they start coming down with flu-like symptoms they should get to a doctor in case. Unfortunately tourists don’t know and so by the time they get the distinctive black spots it’s too late. I don’t know whether Arizona traditionally had the problem to the same extent, but it neighbours NM and the article says that the disease is on the rise.

  2. OrganicGeorge says:
    November 10, 2007 at 10:54 am

    Plague ebbs and flows all the time. But unlike the middle ages we now how to treat it so it’s no going to be a pandemic again. It’s too old school, but the new anti biotic resistant bugs, they are on the rise and thousands of US citizens have died from them this year.

    So your question is valid but with the wrong horror.

  3. Bob In Pacifica says:
    November 10, 2007 at 11:21 am

    The other thing I’ve read about The Plague is that it has evolved into a less virulent disease. It doesn’t serve its evolutionary purpose (to survive and reproduce) to kill off all its hosts. That’s why it would evolve to be less deadly.

    So while it kills, it’s only Plague Lite nowadays.

    Or so they say.

  4. durablend says:
    November 10, 2007 at 2:02 pm

    You’re forgetting the obvious–rich people generally keep away from the “unwashed” (ie, the rest of us) in society much as possible, so as long as it doesn’t affect them, there is no problem.

  5. Colorado Dave says:
    November 10, 2007 at 7:42 pm

    Actually there are a handful of plague cases every year spread out between AZ, NM and CO.

    Here is some info from the CDC website:

    In the U.S., 1 to 40 cases reported annually (avg = 13 cases) by western states, 1971-1995

    Worldwide, 2861 cases reported by 10 countries to WHO in 1995

    Mortality is about 14% and mostly involves cases located in extremely rural areas due to the lack of health care providers.

    Here is more:

    In North America, plague is found from the Pacific Coast eastward to the western Great Plains and from British Columbia and Alberta, Canada southward to Mexico. Most of the human cases occur in two regions…one in northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Colorado, another in California, southern Oregon, and far western Nevada.

    Rarely are cases found in urban areas. This combined with improved sanitation and treatments since the 14th century explain why epidemic possibilities are rare.

    The Colorado Health Department was quite concerned when plague began appearing in squirrels in City Park in Denver this past summer. Notices were posted and the squirrels monitored. There were no human cases in Denver.

    Here is the link to the CDC’s Plague information: http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm

    Surfing around the infectious disease area of the CDC web site is fascinating and morbid all at the same time.

  6. Colorado Dave says:
    November 10, 2007 at 7:54 pm

    The people most at risk are involved with animals in remote and secluded locations. Herders, hunters, trappers, ranchers and vets usually account for most if not all cases. A wildlife biologist working in the Grand Canyon fits the bill.

    I’m not sure a tourist has ever contracted the disease.

    There is a long standing tradition in the mountain west of lying to tourists in order to scare them.