What do you imagine when you hear the words "bubonic plague"? Maybe gloomy pictures from the Middle Ages? In fact, the plague has not disappeared anywhere, and even today, people continue to contract this disease and even die from it. Fortunately, this rarely happens.
Despite the fact that in the past, the plague claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, now this disease cannot be called dangerous. According to the World Health Organization, for the period from 2010 to 2015, a little more than 3 thousand cases of plague were registered worldwide, 584 of them were fatal.
The causative agent of the plague is the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is carried by fleas that live on the body of small mammals. The most common form of the disease is bubonic plague, and besides it there are pulmonary and septic forms.
With bubonic plague, the causative agent of the disease during a flea bite enters the body, reaches the lymphatic system and begins to multiply in the nearest lymph node. Buboes are formed - hard, enlarged and inflamed lymph nodes that, if left untreated, can turn into open wounds. In the pulmonary form, the pathogen enters the lungs - this form is the most contagious and can be transmitted from person to person. When a pathogen enters the bloodstream, a septic form of plague develops.
The incubation period for plague infection is 3-7 days, after which patients develop flu-like symptoms: fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, weakness, and nausea.
In 1350, at the height of the plague epidemic that was raging in Europe, Pope Clement VI tried to escape the infection by sitting in his palace between two braziers in which a fire was constantly maintained. He still managed not to get sick, but now, fortunately, people do not need to use such extreme methods.
After the discovery of antibiotics, it became much easier to treat the disease, and the death rate from plague dropped significantly. The most important thing is to start taking medication on the first day after the first symptoms appear to prevent bacteria from spreading.
You can reduce the risk of contracting the plague by following a number of simple rules. Use insect repellents: products containing DEET are suitable, and avoid contact with wild rodents, both living and dead. In 2016, a case of plague infection was registered in Altai. Then a child who was visiting his relatives on a livestock farm fell ill. The boy said that he held the groundhog by the legs while the grandfather removed the skin from the animal.
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If you suspect that you may have contracted the plague, it is best to see a doctor as soon as possible, who will confirm or deny the diagnosis. The plague is treated and quite successfully, but delay can lead to irreversible consequences.
KSENIYA SKRYPNIK