bubonic plague is back

[westbrook]

 

Blast From the Past: Plague Strikes China

 

Black Death Bacteria Can Spread From Human To Human

By JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN

ABC News Medical Unit

Aug. 5, 2009

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Blast From The Past

Over the weekend, news emerged that a variant of the same bacteria that caused the infamous" Black Death" or bubonic plague, in medieval Europe had claimed three lives in the Chinese province of Qinghai, prompting the government to quarantine the town of Ziketan, home to 10,000 people.

 

A rash of pneumonic plague in China has claimed at least three lives. (ABC News Photo Illustration) The bacteria responsible, Yersinia pestis, is the same bacteria that caused the bubonic plague, which wiped out, millions of people in Europe in the fourteenth century.

 

While this form of the disease, known as pneumonic plague, spreads from human to human, without needing rats or fleas for transmission, it is not the grave threat to humans it was in medieval times.

 

"In this form, the organism gets in the lung -- that allows it to be transmitted by coughing," explained Philip Alcabes, associate professor in the program in urban public health at Hunter College's School of Health Sciences and author of Dread: How Fear And Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics From The Black Death To Avian Flu. "The problem with that is that it allows it to be transmitted directly from person to person."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[westbrook]

just what we need flying from one place to another and then here! the black plague...

 

funny how they are down playing this.

 

to know if you have it sing the song: Ring around the Rosie

 

http://nicolaa5.tripod.com/articles/rosie.html

 

kids an explanation that, to my ears, made some sense: this rhyme referred to the Black Death. Doubtless, many of you will have heard it: ---"Ring around the Rosie"--refers to a red mark, supposedly the first sign of the plague

---"A pocket full of posies"-- refers to sachets of herbs carried to ward off infection

---"Ashes, ashes" --either a reference to the cremation of plague victims or to the words said in the funeral Mass..."Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Sometimes line three is rendered as "Atischoo, atischoo"--sneezing, another sign of infection.

---"We all fall down." -- The Plague was not selective in its victims; both rich and poor, young and old, succumbed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[westbrook]

look up the "Four Thieves" and a story about robbers surviving the plague pops up.

 

the 4 thieves refers to the herbs used...

 

Four Thieves: Historic Anti-Plague Remedy

by Ingrid Naiman

During the dreadful years of the Black Death, a few people found the way to survive the plague that was decimating the population. Among the more colorful of these were four thieves from Marseilles who while plundering for treasures protected themselves with garlic and a concoction of herbs extracted in vinegar. The tale is a fascinating exploration of herbal lore, but there are so many versions of the story that it is up to you to choose which to believe.

 

 

 

 

 

this recipe of herbs and vinegar needs to be researched and talked about...

[westbrook]

 

Make Your Own Herbal Disinfectant

<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Go Green With Homemade Four Thieves Vinegar Antibacterial Spray</h2> © S. Elliott

 

Jan 24, 2008

 

Go green by making a safe antibacterial cleaner. Homemade, organic cleansers are effective, healthy, and good for the environment.

A great way to go green in your home is to cut back on your use of chemical cleansers and disinfectants. One way to be sure that the disinfectant cleaner you are using is safe for your children and pets is to make it yourself, and one of the most ingenious and simple ways to make a reliable disinfectant is to recreate a version of the four thieves vinegar.

 

<h3 class="dynamic">What is Four Thieves Vinegar? </h3> For hundreds of years, four thieves vinegar was used as an infusion to protect against the black plague and other illnesses. Although its effectiveness in warding off the plague is a myth, the ingredients in this ingenious blend are all natural antibacterial, antiviral agents that you can use in your home to keep it clean and sweet smelling.

 

<h3 class="dynamic">How Do You Make Four Thieves Vinegar?</h3> There have been many modifications and additions to the four thieves recipe, although a few of the ingredients stay pretty consistent throughout, and were probably part of the original mixture. These include: lavender, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Other additions, most notably garlic, are also often mentioned, as are peppermint, rue, meadowsweet, and hyssop.

 

A blend that would have a good concentration of antibacterial, easy to find (or grow) ingredients, have a pleasant fragrance, and be easy to prepare would be:

 

<h3 class="dynamic">Easy Four Thieves Vinegar Recipe</h3> 2 Cups of apple cider or white vinegar

 

4 Tbsp. dried lavender flowers

 

4 Tbsp. dried rosemary

 

4 Tbsp. dried thyme

 

4 Tbsp. dried sage

 

4 Tbsp. dried peppermint

 

Combine all the ingredients and seal tightly in a glass jar. Place the jar in a warm, dark cupboard for four weeks, shaking occasionally.

 

<h3 class="dynamic">How to Use Four Thieves Vinegar </h3> This mixture can be strained, cut with equal parts water, and decanted into a spray bottle. It is particularly good for use as a topical disinfectant around pet feeding areas, countertops, wood laminate floors, outdoor seating areas, and washable surfaces near where children play. Special note: If you are using herbs fresh from your garden, triple the amount specified in the recipe.

 

<h3 class="dynamic">What is the History of Four Thieves Vinegar?</h3> The story of the four thieves, who protected themselves from the black plague by using a mysterious blend of herbs, has come down to us in a number of incarnations. In Cal Orey's, "The Healing Power of Vinegar", the thieves originated in the French town of Marseilles during the Middle Ages, while other sources have them coming from Toulouse, or even London. Regardless of their origins, the thieves were reputed to have successfully looted the sick and dead in their plague ridden city without becoming ill, and when captured and brought before the court, they were granted pardons in exchange for their extraordinary recipe.

 

 

if (document.getElementById('inline_ads')) document.getElementById('inline_ads').innerHTML = document.getElementById('inline_ads_hidden').innerHTML; The copyright of the article Make Your Own Herbal Disinfectant in Herbs is owned by S. Elliott. Permission to republish Make Your Own Herbal Disinfectant in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

 

http://herbs.suite101.com/article.cfm/make...al_disinfectant

 

 

 

 

 

Read more: http://herbs.suite101.com/article.cfm/make...t#ixzz0NZYSGCRT

 

Go green by making a safe antibacterial cleaner. Homemade, organic cleansers are effective, healthy, and good for the environment.

A great way to go green in your home is to cut back on your use of chemical cleansers and disinfectants. One way to be sure that the disinfectant cleaner you are using is safe for your children and pets is to make it yourself, and one of the most ingenious and simple ways to make a reliable disinfectant is to recreate a version of the four thieves vinegar.

 

<h3 class="dynamic">What is Four Thieves Vinegar? </h3> For hundreds of years, four thieves vinegar was used as an infusion to protect against the black plague and other illnesses. Although its effectiveness in warding off the plague is a myth, the ingredients in this ingenious blend are all natural antibacterial, antiviral agents that you can use in your home to keep it clean and sweet smelling.

 

<h3 class="dynamic">How Do You Make Four Thieves Vinegar?</h3> There have been many modifications and additions to the four thieves recipe, although a few of the ingredients stay pretty consistent throughout, and were probably part of the original mixture. These include: lavender, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Other additions, most notably garlic, are also often mentioned, as are peppermint, rue, meadowsweet, and hyssop.

 

A blend that would have a good concentration of antibacterial, easy to find (or grow) ingredients, have a pleasant fragrance, and be easy to prepare would be:

 

<h3 class="dynamic">Easy Four Thieves Vinegar Recipe</h3> 2 Cups of apple cider or white vinegar

 

 

Read more: http://herbs.suite101.com/article.cfm/make...t#ixzz0NZY6M6N0

 

[Crazy4Canning]

Thanks for this, Westie, I always learn something from your posts.

[nmchick]

We've had three cases already this summer. One little boy died.

 

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/06/11...49471244741045/

 

N.M. county facing bubonic plague cases

 

 

Published: June 11, 2009 at 1:24 PM

 

SANTA FE, N.M., June 11 (UPI) -- Health Department officials say residents of Santa Fe County, N.M., should take precautions amid three confirmed cases of bubonic plague in the county.

 

Paul Ettestad, the state public health veterinarian, said residents also need to be cautious with pets that are allowed outside because the county is seeing a number of bubonic plague cases involving animals, The (Santa Fe) New Mexican said Thursday.

 

"Besides the human cases, we're also having animal cases," Ettestad said. "Those span from Taos County all the way down north-central New Mexico. I don't suspect that plague is just in one small area, it seems to be countywide in Santa Fe."

 

A 54-year-old man is the third person to be confirmed with the potentially deadly infection, which has claimed the life of an 8-year-old boy. The boy's 10-year-old sister was also infected, Ettestad said.

 

Symptoms of bubonic plague include swollen lymph nodes and a high fever. The bacterial disease has been known to be spread by fleas and rodents, the newspaper said.

 

[The MacKinnon]

There is a company called "Young Living" that makes essential oils, including a clove based blend called "Thieves" which claims to replicate the blend used by corpse robbers for protection back in the 14th century. It is definitely potent!

 

Incense/smoke worked well too.

[Gunplumber]

Plague never left. It is wherever rodents are. It just rarely causes an outbreak in humans. I'm surprised it isn't more prevalent.

 

Still wading through a really scholarly study of plagues and pestilence from ancient (1000 BC) records through modern times, particularly their methods of transmission from one culture to another.

[TheCG]

Nota bene: Bubonic plague and pneumonic plague are two different plagues.

 

All plagues are not created equal.