8 Potential Side Effects of the Flu Shot You Might Not Know About, According to Doctors

Combatting The Ancient Threat: WHO's Updated Guidelines For Plague Control

An Ancient Disease, A Modern Threat 

Despite its historical reputation, the plague remains a significant global health threat. Re-emerging in regions once thought safe, the disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis can spread rapidly in communities, causing devastating outbreaks if left unchecked. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released the Manual for Plague Surveillance, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control (2024), a comprehensive guide aimed at tackling this age-old disease using modern-day tools.

In this manual, the WHO emphasizes the critical need for early detection, rapid response, and a coordinated strategy to contain outbreaks. The disease, while deadly, can be controlled effectively with timely intervention, including the administration of antibiotics and preventive measures.

Epidemiology and the Need for Vigilance

Plague is primarily transmitted from rodents to humans via fleas, making human outbreaks likely in areas where these animals are abundant. Although once thought of as a relic of history, plague continues to be a real threat in regions where Yersinia pestis thrives. The WHO manual stresses the importance of epidemiological surveillance, especially in areas known for outbreaks. This involves monitoring both human cases and animal reservoirs. Flea and rodent populations must be controlled to prevent the disease from spreading to humans.

Surveillance tools like rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and PCR tests are essential in confirming cases early. However, surveillance does not stop with diagnosis; healthcare professionals are urged to pay close attention to the environment. By monitoring rodent populations and flea indices, authorities can get ahead of potential outbreaks before they reach the human population.

A Coordinated Approach to Case Management

Once a case of plague is identified, swift action is vital. The WHO manual outlines specific antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, and aminoglycosides as first-line treatments. These medications, if administered early, can drastically reduce mortality rates, particularly for the more deadly forms of plague, such as pneumonic and septicemic plague.

The manual stresses the importance of healthcare workers understanding the context of the outbreak. Treatment must be accompanied by isolation of patients in cases of pneumonic plague to prevent person-to-person transmission. Healthcare providers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to shield themselves from possible infection, especially when dealing with infected animals or the bodies of plague victims.

Prevention is Key

Public health campaigns and education are crucial components in managing plague outbreaks. The WHO manual highlights the need for health officials to engage communities and promote understanding of the disease. Simple measures, such as avoiding flea bites, can significantly reduce risk. Communities in plague-endemic areas are urged to take precautions such as wearing protective clothing, using insect repellents, and seeking immediate medical care in the event of a bubo (a swollen lymph node, typically indicative of bubonic plague).

Moreover, rodent control is a cornerstone of prevention. Public health officials must implement measures to reduce rodent populations, particularly in areas where outbreaks are common. Flea control measures, such as using insecticidal powders or sprays, are equally important to prevent fleas from transferring the bacteria to humans.

Emergency Preparedness for Future Outbreaks

One of the critical aspects of the WHO's approach is emergency preparedness. The manual outlines the steps for setting up rapid response teams (RRTs) that can spring into action when an outbreak occurs. These teams coordinate between health authorities, laboratories, and communities to contain the disease as quickly as possible. Their responsibilities include managing patient care, distributing antibiotics, and implementing quarantine measures if necessary.

Preparedness also means stockpiling essential medical supplies, including antibiotics and PPE. In plague-endemic regions, having these resources readily available can mean the difference between a contained outbreak and a widespread disaster.

The WHO also emphasizes that health systems need to be resilient and flexible. By having plans in place that account for plague outbreaks, health professionals can respond more efficiently, saving more lives.

Mosquito Invasion Causes Public Health Risk In Sydney's Southwest, Prompting Council Outbreak Response Plan

Southwest Sydney has been infested by mosquitoes, effectively trapping many residents inside their homes.

Liverpool Hospital and local schools have also been buzzing with the bitey insects, and local council are now stepping in.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Southwest Sydney in grip of mosquito crisis.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

"We're inundated, it's like a plague," Chipping Norton resident Elizabeth Clonaris said.

"We can't step outside of our front doors, can't hang clothes outside.

"It's not just Chipping Norton that's affected. It's Wattle Grove, it's Hammondville, it's Moorebank."

Woman's shock call after pet dog tears her arm off in horrific attack

2 min read

Woman wins compensation claim after hurting herself while working from home

2 min read

Residents are concerned about the health impacts the rising mosquito population could have on the area.

"They can spread pathogens that can make you sick, like Ross River virus," NSW Health Pathology scientist Cameron Webb, who works protecting communities from mosquito-borne disease, told 7NEWS.

Residents are getting creative with strategies to evade the flying blood-suckers

"We've got to make sure we use a blower to go outside, get rid of the mozzies," Brian Milankovic said.

Therese Stewart, who has lived in the southwest for 20 years, now buys citronella by the litre — and said she uses two bottles of insect spray every day.

Liverpool City Council has revealed it is planning to bring the outbreak under control.

"Wherever this problem lies, we will identify what the root cause is, and we will work together to ensure the residents are looked after," Liverpool City Council acting CEO Jason Breton told 7NEWS.

The council also shared its current action plan "to manage the current high numbers of mosquitoes being reported".

"Council has received many complaints recently regarding mosquitoes in the Chipping Norton area," Liverpool City Council said.

Liverpool City Council said it will be "trapping mosquitoes in the hot spots in Chipping Norton and near the Liverpool Water Recycling Plant with the help of a mosquito expert in the NSW Health Entomology department to identify the species and the best management option".

It will also spray "nuisance" mosquitoes in public facilities, and engage a contractor to spray mosquito larvicide at some natural mosquito habitats.

It will work with Sydney Water to inspect Liverpool Water Recycling Plant with NSW Health and take appropriate mosquito management actions, and work with a NSW Health mosquito expert to inspect mosquito hotspots in the Chipping Norton area.

Council has also written to Chipping Norton area residents who have neglected swimming pools, urging them to be cleaned up or drained.

"Widespread mosquito habitats occur across Liverpool found in backyards from pot plant saucers, bird baths, roof gutters, rainwater tanks and neglected swimming pools (with green, brown, or murky water) which can be a source of thousands of mosquitoes," council said.

It urged residents to clean out these types of stagnant water sources, or cover up anything that can collect rainwater.

Affected residents can explore the full range of council advice, including products to use around the home, by visiting the council's Community Response page.

Dozens of chemicals linked to breast cancer leaching into our foods, study finds

5 min read

Push to overhaul 'cruel, wasteful' voluntary assisted dying laws

2 min read

Ending Both Political Plagues Will Take At Least Four Years

Full of enthusiasm for the prospect, a Torrington resident writes to the Waterbury Republican-American that the forthcoming presidential election "is a chance to end the plague of Donald Trump." Indeed, since Trump, the Republican presidential nominee for a third time, is 78, if he loses next month he almost surely won't run again.

But for many people who deplore Trump's character and demeanor, the problem with getting rid of his "plague" on Nov. 5 is that it will produce four more years of the current plague, the Democratic administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

What are voters to do if they deplore not only Trump personally but also the policies of the current administration, policies the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris, probably will continue?

Ordinarily someone of Trump's character and demeanor would have no chance of election. But his adversaries still don't realize that his support is largely a reaction to them.

There are many causes of this reaction. Among them are ruinous inflation; worsening poverty and crime; open borders and unfettered illegal immigration; the proxy war in Ukraine; the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan; government censorship; the promotion of transgenderism; lies told about the virus epidemic, President Biden's mental competence, and economic and crime data; a Supreme Court nominee who purported not to know what a woman is; the official culture of victimhood; racial preferences; and so on — all of it supported, excused or concealed by propagandistic news organizations.

Such complaints aren't Republican contrivance. Polls show that most people think the country was better off when Trump was president and that even most Democrats think the country is going in the wrong direction. Republicans would win the election overwhelmingly if they had not nominated such a troublesome personality and the election was decided on policy instead.

Even Harris seems to recognize the great desire to repudiate her administration, for her campaign slogan is "a new way forward," her administration's way having failed.

With his grotesque faults, recklessness, crudeness and buffoonery, Trump embodies and gives voice to the contempt of government and politics felt by many and maybe most Americans. That is, Trump is a product not just of his foes but of democracy itself.

Yes, the country needs to get rid of Trump. But more urgently it also needs to repudiate the Biden-Harris administration. Unfortunately this will take at least four years, since it can be accomplished only by electing Trump and then letting the Constitution and age disqualify him from a third term.

Beyond the fringe

Even as its capture by its nutty leftist fringe is threatening to take the Democratic Party down nationally, Connecticut's own nutty leftist fringe is trying to push the party over the edge.

That fringe is the Working Families Party, created to blackmail Democrats out of appealing to the political center. The party provides a second line on the ballot to Democrats pursuing a leftist agenda, and it threatens to run its own candidates against Democrats who aren't leftist enough, thereby taking votes from them and giving Republicans a better chance to win.

The WFP's questionnaire for state legislative candidates seeking the party's endorsement is a treat. It asks candidates to identify their socio-economic class ("poor, working class, middle class, upper-middle class, upper class"); gender ("agender, gender nonconforming, genderqueer, man, non-binary, woman, questioning, two-spirit, other"); and race ("Asian-American, Pacific islander, Black, African-American, African descent, Latino/Latina/Latine/Hispanic/Mestizo, Middle Eastern, Native American/Alaskan native/indigenous person").

At least the questionnaire doesn't ask candidates to disclose their religion, favorite sports team, and biggest regret in life.

The rest of the questionnaire seeks assurances that a candidate will raise taxes and spending, give unemployment benefits to strikers, preserve government employee union control over public finance, prevent competition with public schools, extend government medical insurance to illegal immigrants, continue to forbid police from cooperating with immigration authorities, weaken the private sector, and promise not to join the Moderate Caucus.

Any Democrat in Connecticut who gets on the Working Families Party's line may be assumed to have enlisted for most of this.

Chris Powell has written about Connecticut government and politics for many years. He can be reached at CPowell@cox.Net.

---