*** The plague may be the latest weapon in the War on Terror. According to this 1/19/09 article from the British newspaper The Telegraph, at least 40 al-Qaeda members died after the plague swept through a training camp in northern Algeria (on the Mediterranean coast, approx. 300 miles east of Oran). This follow-up article suggests that the al-Qaeda cell may have been trying to develop the disease into a biological weapon.
*** The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies plague as a Category A Bioterrorism Agent. Characteristics of Category A diseases include: ease of transmission from person-to-person, high mortality rates, and the possibility of "public panic and social disruption". Anthrax, smallpox, and the Ebola virus are also Category A agents. (image, above, from the CDC's Plague Images page - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/pics.htm)
*** Yersinia pestis, the plague bacteria, is named after Alexandre Yersin, the French doctor who discovered it in 1894. Yersin was a student of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur, and when Yersin discovered the bacteria, he named it Pasteurella pestis. It wasn't changed to honor Yersin until 1967. (Information here and below from the article "Yersin, Alexandre" in The Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (2001), retrieved from Longview's Biography Reference Bank online database)
*** In 1895, Yersin began building laboratory facilities in Nha Trang, Indochina (now Vietnam), to produce anti-plague serum. He eventually moved there and stayed until his death in 1943. To this day, his tomb there is maintained as a shrine and the town is the site of the Yersin Museum. (photo, above, from the Pasteur Institute Archives - http://www.pasteur.fr/infosci/archives/yer0.html)
*** In 1895, Yersin began building laboratory facilities in Nha Trang, Indochina (now Vietnam), to produce anti-plague serum. He eventually moved there and stayed until his death in 1943. To this day, his tomb there is maintained as a shrine and the town is the site of the Yersin Museum. (photo, above, from the Pasteur Institute Archives - http://www.pasteur.fr/infosci/archives/yer0.html)
UPCOMING PLAGUE-RELATED EVENTS
February 23, 2009 - 11:30 - 12:45 PM
Contagion Day "Hot Zones"
Led by Brian Mitchell, view a 55-minute film which explores infectious diseases
Campus Center Private Dining Room
Contagion Day "Hot Zones"
Led by Brian Mitchell, view a 55-minute film which explores infectious diseases
Campus Center Private Dining Room
March 5, 2009 - 2:30 - 3:30 PM
Book Discussion of The Plague, led by David Reeves and Debi Serrano
Campus Center, Private Dining Room
Book Discussion of The Plague, led by David Reeves and Debi Serrano
Campus Center, Private Dining Room
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March 24, 2009 - 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Book Discussion of The Plague, led by Tensy Marcos-Bodker and Shelley Carney
Campus Center, Private Dining Room
Bring your lunch (how appetizing!)
Book Discussion of The Plague, led by Tensy Marcos-Bodker and Shelley Carney
Campus Center, Private Dining Room
Bring your lunch (how appetizing!)
April 17, 2009 - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Book Discussion of The Plague, led by Jama Rooney and Linda Cox
Campus Center, Private Dining Room
Bring your lunch (extra credit if anything you're eating resembles a bubo...)
Book Discussion of The Plague, led by Jama Rooney and Linda Cox
Campus Center, Private Dining Room
Bring your lunch (extra credit if anything you're eating resembles a bubo...)
(Sorry I forgot to plug Jama and Linda's discussion on February 13. I heard it was a good discussion, attended by about 15 students, faculty, and staff)
Here's a question for you? Are dead bodies infected with plague contagious?
ReplyDeleteWe've been practicing synthesis in my class and we found two news articles--one about a pair of plague infected dead rats which a laboratory in the US has no record of incinerating. Dead rats at large.
In another article, we heard that the actual infected corpses were pitched over walls in conflicts with enemies. Very primitive bio-terrorism.
I am still extremely freaked out by the Al Queda remark.
ReplyDeleteIt is really scary to think that things like this still exist, and are still very capable of becoming a widespread problem.
I personally think it's stupid idea to trying to weaponize the plague, 1 it's nothing we haven't seen before so we should be able to counter against it before a widespread epidemic breaks out and 2 it's too dangerous to handle due to it's high chance of infection. so those who try to weaponize the plague will most likely get what they deserve and encounter the effects of the plague first hand.
ReplyDeleteTerri: According to "Disposal of dead bodies in emergency conditions", one of the World Health Organization's uplifting Technical Notes for Emergencies, "The widespread belief that corpses pose a risk of communicable disease is wrong. Especially if death resulted from trauma, bodies are quite unlikely to cause outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera,or plague..."
ReplyDeleteThe main danger (and reason that throwing plague victims over your enemies' walls was a popular siege technique) is that the fleas that caused the plague in the first place are still on the victim's bodies or clothing.
The note also says that common graves and mass cremations (like in The Plague) are "rarely warranted and should be avoided", and also that there "are no health advantages of cremation over burial but some communities may prefer it for religious or cultural reasons."
Joshua: I'd certainly agree with you on #2. If the newspaper reports are accurate, then there's your proof! Not sure about #1 though - bacteria and viruses have a funny way of mutating just when you're sure you've got them beat...
ReplyDelete