When was plague cured

The plague diagnosis comes months after the Chinese government announced 3 people had contracted pneumonic plague in the country late last year. Amid the COVID pandemic, it may be frightening to imagine another disease spreading across the globe — especially one as infamous as the bubonic plague.

Additionally, the disease is rare with a few cases every year found in the United States. Shanthi Kappagoda , an infectious disease physician at Stanford Health Care, told Healthline in an interview last year. The bubonic plague is a serious infection of the lymphatic system, which is caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis Y. Without treatment, the bubonic plague can cause death in up to 60 percent of people who get it, according to the World Health Organization WHO.

The plague is extremely rare. Only a couple thousand cases are reported worldwide each year, most of which are in Africa, India, and Peru. Robert Glatter , an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, said. It can successfully be treated with antibiotics, and according to the CDC , treatment has lowered mortality rates to approximately 11 percent.

The antibiotics work best if given within 24 hours of the first symptoms. In severe cases, patients can be given oxygen, intravenous fluids, and breathing support. When rodents die from the plague, fleas jump to a new host, biting them and transmitting Y. Transmission also occurs by handling tissue or blood from a plague-infected animal, or inhalation of infected droplets. Bubonic plague , the disease's most common form, refers to telltale buboes—painfully swollen lymph nodes—that appear around the groin, armpit, or neck.

Pneumonic plague , the most infectious type, is an advanced stage of plague that moves into the lungs. If untreated, bubonic and pneumonic plague can progress to septicemic plague , infecting the bloodstream.

If left untreated, pneumonic and septicemic plague kills almost percent of those it infects. Three particularly well-known pandemics occurred before the cause of plague was discovered. The first well-documented crisis was the Plague of Justinian, which began in A. Named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, the pandemic killed up to 10, people a day in Constantinople modern-day Istanbul, Turkey , according to ancient historians.

Modern estimates indicate half of Europe's population—almost million deaths—was wiped out before the plague subsided in the s. Arguably the most infamous plague outbreak was the so-called Black Death , a multi-century pandemic that swept through Asia and Europe. It was believed to start in China in , spreading along trade routes and reaching Europe via Sicilian ports in the late s.

The Black Death lingered on for centuries, particularly in cities. Outbreaks included the Great Plague of London , in which 70, residents died. The cause of plague wasn't discovered until the most recent global outbreak, which started in China in and didn't officially end until The pandemic caused roughly 10 million deaths. More on Black death. Tall Tales 30 Jun In Depth 27 Apr Historian looks back at the diary of 17th-century British naval administrator Samuel Pepys. How the black death changed the world.

In Depth 17 Mar The plague brought about the rise of the middle class - and pubs. Beijing residents fearful after outbreak of plague. This image shows a 'Famous and Effectual Medicine to cure the Plague', an advert in a broadside - a printed bill, cheaply-produced and intended for a wide circulation. Of course, the medicine was not a cure at all. Over 68, officially died of the plague in London alone; the true figure is probably nearer , Now we know it is likely that the disease spread through bacteria carried by fleas living on the black rats common in towns, especially poor areas.

But then, its cause was a terrifying mystery. Can't play the file above? Listen to the audio clip here. And having through Gods blessing cured these several Persons under written, and above fifty more I thought it my duty to publish it abroad in the World, for the benefit and good of others; And have put an easie price on the medicines very little more then what they cost making for it is my chiefest aim to do good, and not to get gain; For I thank God I can very well subsist without it, and truly I dare say through Gods blessing, and with careful looking unto, not ten in one hundred will miscarry.

Henry Contelloe , and five in his Family, living in New-Market. Rich Pearce , his Wife and his Nurse, Mrs. Four Milk-women, Mrs.