The Plague!

[megalomania]

I visited my aunt and uncle over Christmas since my cousins and their new babies were in from their locations around the US. Upon arriving I find they are all stricken with the plague, a particularly virulent flu bug. All except my aunt and one cousin were stricken, and they got it starting yesterday. Well I went back yesterday with a different aunt since I didn’t get to see the baby and today my aunt has it. Soon I fear I will be stricken with the plague.

Is there anything I can do to minimize my exposure? My aunt is staying with me for the holidays, so my very air will be contaminated. This plague has already sent two relatives to the hospital. I also wonder if I should try to make a culture for future biological research… Of course I don’t remember how to culture organisms anymore.

If I am gone for a few days you know why.

[LuzRD]

from webmd.com , refering specifically to pneumonic plague, which may be different than what you are explaining...


Is pneumonic plague different from bubonic plague?

Yes. Both are caused by Yersinia pestis, but they are transmitted differently and their symptoms differ. Pneumonic plague can be transmitted from person to person; bubonic plague cannot. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and is transmitted when a person breathes in Y. pestis particles in the air. Bubonic plague is transmitted through the bite of an infected flea or exposure to infected material through a break in the skin. Symptoms include swollen, tender lymph glands called buboes. Buboes are not present in pneumonic plague. If bubonic plague is not treated, however, the bacteria can spread through the bloodstream and infect the lungs, causing a secondary case of pneumonic plague.


What should someone do if they suspect they or others have been exposed to plague?

Get immediate medical attention: To prevent illness, a person who has been exposed to pneumonic plague must receive antibiotic treatment without delay. If an exposed person becomes ill, antibiotics must be administered within 24 hours of their first symptoms to reduce the risk of death. Notify authorities: Immediately notify local or state health departments so they can begin to investigate and control the problem right away. If bioterrorism is suspected, the health departments will notify the CDC, FBI, and other appropriate authorities.


How can someone reduce the risk of getting pneumonic plague from another person or giving it to someone else?

People having direct and close contact with someone with pneumonic plague should wear tightly fitting disposable surgical masks. Patients with the disease should be isolated and medically supervised for at least the first 48 hours of antibiotic treatment. People who have been exposed to a contagious person can be protected from developing plague by receiving prompt antibiotic treatment.


How long can plague bacteria exist in the environment?

Yersinia pestis is easily destroyed by sunlight and drying. Even so, when released into air, the bacterium will survive for up to one hour, depending on conditions.

[c0deblue]

That's tough staying in the same house and sharing food preparation areas etc. Wash hands a lot, swab nostrils and gargle occasionally and before bed with a little vodka (seriously), and generally try to keep a comfortable distance. Wearing a disposable paper mask like they do in the large Asian cities during flu outbreaks wouldn't be a bad idea either. If you're not already infected you might just squeek by. Minimum of a week complete downtime isn't a good way to ring in the New Year! Best of luck Mega, but if it doesn't work out, can I have your room? :p All joking aside, stay well.

[nbk2000]

Influenza requires live culture media, vis-a-vis chicken embryos. Though you could cryo-freeze sections of infected lung tissue for later revival.

That's how the CDC (and the secret US bio-weapons program) got ahold of the 1918 strain that killed 10's of millions...from frozen eskimo lung dug up from an alaskan graveyard in the '90s.

Too bad there aren't any niggers dead from ebola that died in alaska. :( They all had to die in tropical areas. Oh well...a dead nigger in africa beats a live one anywhere else! :p

[FUTI]

I agree with c0deblue about measures he stated. Only thing I could add...use Echinaceae extract (drops) for a maximum 14 days from possible exposure. It has an effect of busting immune system respose. Lymphocytes has greater production of hydrogen-peroxide they use for killing the germ (or peroxynitrite or NO+H2O2...actualy nobody knows exactly) when exposed to this extract. Bad thing is oxidative stress will make more damage on prolonged treatment so use it as described. Forget about culturing the bug...do as any guy responsible for NBC defence do...medicine (atropine for instance) is injected to yourself then look for the others around;)

[Chris The Great]

Wouldn't a blood sample work if you foze it? A few vials of blood in the feezer isn't hard to do, although I don't know if it would work.

[Jome skanish]

Eat garlic, lots of it. It has sulfur-containing amino acid that enhance the immune system. And germs dont like the diallyl sufide either.

[Anthony]

If this is serious (hospitalisation), then shouldn't the dying refrain from imposing themselves on the healthy? What about the baby???

Treat the diseased like you would a girl who really makes your skin crawl - maintain a healthy distance at all times, no hugs, no smelling them, don't share a bed, don't share food. You could always wear your gasmask "No offense, but I don't want what you've got!". Or you could check into a motel for the week, and then spray your house down with disinfectant when she leaves. Considering that kind of welcome, she probably wouldn't come back :)

[FUTI]

Yes and if it is a girl that is a carier then the post made by Jome skanish and Anthony merge together to make combined action;) Deter both carier and bug itself.
I hope you don't find this ofensive guys:)

[Darkbloodpriest]

A nice clean cotton ball or even qu-tip should work nicely for taking the specimen(mucus maybe?:)) I'd just use a nice clean canning jar to hold a few samples, and store it away in the freezer. But considering I have no college experience with such matters, I decided to look in one of my favorite books. You should find something to help you along in chapter nine of silent death by uncle fester. I hope thats still on the ftp or you'll have a hell of a time finding it(assuming you don't have it). I believe NBK upped it, but I'll be happy to up it if you'd like a copy.
While the vector is different, I doubt the procedure would be very different; the collecting and storaging anyways.