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Tag: black death

  • Plague Case Confirmed Near Lake Tahoe After Likely Flea Bite

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    It’s the first confirmed case of the plague—the same disease that wiped out millions in the 14th century—in the region since 2020.

    A California resident has tested positive for the plague after camping near Lake Tahoe, local health officials confirmed. It’s the latest in a string of positive cases in the western U.S. this year.

    The infected person was likely bitten by a plague-infected flea in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to local health officials. This is the first local case in the area since 2020. The person is currently recovering and is undergoing medical treatment at home.

    “Plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County,” Kyle Fliflet, acting director of public health in El Dorado County, in northern California, said in a statement.

    “It’s important that individuals take precautions for themselves and their pets when outdoors, especially while walking, hiking and or camping in areas where wild rodents are present,” he said.

    Plague is rare in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), affecting seven people in the U.S. per year, mostly in western states.

    The disease is endemic in many California counties and other parts of the western U.S., where it circulates among wild rodents and other animals. Earlier this month, a cat in Colorado tested positive for the plague. Last month, an Arizona man died after contracting the disease. That person developed a pneumonic form of the plague, in which the bacterium spreads to the lungs, due to an untreated bubonic infection.

    The disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is most commonly spread to humans by bites from infected fleas. It can be treated with antibiotics but can be fatal if not treated promptly. Infamously, the plague decimated Europe’s 14th-century population.

    More than 80% of plague cases in the U.S. have been in the bubonic form, from which patients will develop swollen, painful lymph nodes called buboes, according to the CDC.

    Like many other diseases caused by microbes, the plague is more likely now due to climate change, and cases have been steadily growing since the 1950s. But it’s still rare. The risk to the public of exposure as well as the risk of human-to-human transmission remains low, according to health officials.

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    Natalia Mesa

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  • Gene That Shielded Some Against Black Death May Help, Harm People Today

    Gene That Shielded Some Against Black Death May Help, Harm People Today

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    By Cara Murez 

    HealthDay Reporter

    WEDNESDAY, March 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Some people may have a gene that helps protect them from respiratory diseases like COVID-19 — and helped their ancestors fight the plague.

    It comes at a cost.

    This same gene variation may be linked to an increased risk of autoimmune disease, including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, according to British researchers.

    “This gene essentially chops up proteins for the immune system,” said lead author Fergus Hamilton, a fellow at the University of Bristol.

    “Although we don’t know the exact mechanism influencing disease risk, carriers of alleles that provide more protection against respiratory disease seem to have an increased risk of autoimmune disease,” he said in a university news release. “It is potentially a great example of a phenomenon termed ‘balancing selection’ — where the same allele has different effect on different diseases.”

    Past research has found that survivors of the bubonic plague pandemic in the Middle Ages, known as Black Death, carried a variant — or allele — in a gene known as ERAP2. Those who died lacked this variant.

    The new study found that humans now have the same variants, which is associated with protection against infections such as pneumonia and COVID.

    To study this, researchers looked at infection, autoimmune disease and parental longevity across participants in three large genetic studies.

    They looked for links between variation in the ERAP2 gene and risk of autoimmune disease and infection.

    “This is a theoretical story of balance — relating to historical and contemporary disease profiles — which reflects our past and is rarely seen in real human examples,” said co-author Nicholas Timpson, a professor of genetic epidemiology at the university’s MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit.

    Identifying links between genetics and susceptibility to disease can pave the way for potential treatments, researchers noted. It also highlights potential challenges, they said.

    While scientists are developing therapeutics to target ERAP2 for people with Crohn’s disease and cancer, it is important to consider potential effects on infection risk posed by these agents, the authors said.

    Study findings were published March 7 in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Oxford, Cardiff, and Imperial College London also worked on the study.

    More information

    The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on gene variants.

     

    SOURCE: University of Bristol, news release, March 7, 2023

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