Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com...-and-an-earthquake-led-to-prairie-dog-plague/
How politics and an earthquake led to prairie dog plague
By Tara C. Smith | February 18, 2013 |
John Tull didn?t know he was the heir to a century-old legacy. In 2002, he and his wife boarded a plane from their Santa Fe, New Mexico home and flew to New York City. Shortly after arrival, Tull and his wife both felt ill, with high fevers and odd swellings. In the post-9/11 aftermath, terrorism was feared?the couple was diagnosed with bubonic plague.
But the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, hadn?t come from any human with sinister motives?it had come from a rodent (likely a pack rat or a prairie dog) infected in their native state, via a long line of rodents dating back to turn-of-the-century San Francisco...
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Source: http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2...isco-lessons-for-public-health-communication/
Plague in Victorian San Francisco?lessons for public health communication
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 18, 2013
I have a post up today at the Scientific American Guest blog, discussing how an earthquake and denial led to prairie dog plague. It details an outbreak of plague in Victorian San Francisco?the first time plague hit the United States?and the many downstream consequences of that outbreak (which began in 1900 and wasn?t really contained 1908). While the story is over at SciAm, here I wanted to talk more about why the outbreak became such a public health disaster...
How politics and an earthquake led to prairie dog plague
By Tara C. Smith | February 18, 2013 |
John Tull didn?t know he was the heir to a century-old legacy. In 2002, he and his wife boarded a plane from their Santa Fe, New Mexico home and flew to New York City. Shortly after arrival, Tull and his wife both felt ill, with high fevers and odd swellings. In the post-9/11 aftermath, terrorism was feared?the couple was diagnosed with bubonic plague.
But the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, hadn?t come from any human with sinister motives?it had come from a rodent (likely a pack rat or a prairie dog) infected in their native state, via a long line of rodents dating back to turn-of-the-century San Francisco...
**********************************************
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2...isco-lessons-for-public-health-communication/
Plague in Victorian San Francisco?lessons for public health communication
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 18, 2013
I have a post up today at the Scientific American Guest blog, discussing how an earthquake and denial led to prairie dog plague. It details an outbreak of plague in Victorian San Francisco?the first time plague hit the United States?and the many downstream consequences of that outbreak (which began in 1900 and wasn?t really contained 1908). While the story is over at SciAm, here I wanted to talk more about why the outbreak became such a public health disaster...