Author note: I stink at writing news articles and this is also very old. PLEASE BE FORGIVING. Plus, again, THIS IS NOT REAL!
Yesterday a major plague (Yersinia pestis) outbreak was reported in a small town called Sauk Prairie, WI. This sickness, famous for the outbreak in Europe in the 1300s, was brought to school by a boy named, Marcus Martinez. He died shortly after noon on that day. Yesterday had been his first day back from his trip to Europe, where he and his mother had been helping dig up old bones from the outbreak in the 1300s. One of the bones scratched his skin open, leaving the bacteria inside the wound. This is believed to be where he first contracted the disease. "When he got to school, he seemed really tired and had been getting the shivers all morning," his friend Ella Midthun says, " He seemed off, you know? I thought he just had a cold or something until I saw the black spots and scabs on his arms. Then I knew it was serious. I took him to the nurse and told her about it. She immediately quarantined the school. That was when she told me he had the plague. I still can't believe it. He's dead." She then started crying and we were unable to question her any farther. The nurse that shut down the school, later died after trying to treat the boy. 578 students died because of one kid. 112 6th graders, 345 7th graders and 121 8th graders. 15 teachers died later that day. We later talked to the boy's mother, after she was tested to see if she had the sickness. When asked if he showed any symptoms when at home she said, "No, he didn't. But then again, he would always try to hide stuff like this from me, just so I didn't worry." We were then told to leave.
Why here? Why now? In Europe the government has decided to dig up old plague victims to study and give them a proper burial. They are asking for volunteers from all over the globe. Marcus and his mother went to Europe to help with the dig. According to his mother, Marcus had recently scraped up his arms and knees from falling off the stage while performing in a play. We believe that this is how the bacteria entered the bloodstream when he was at the dig. Nobody else from the dig has contracted the disease so far.
You probably have heard about this disease killing thousands in Europe, but how did this happen? It is believed that fleas on Oriental rats bit humans therefore giving them the disease. There were many rats in the 1300s, so many people got sick. Healthy people panicked, doing everything they could to avoid the sick. Some of the sick even went so far as to drink "potions" laced with things like mercury, arsenic, or "unicorn horn". Mercury is poisonous to the human body so then they had mercury and the Black plague in their bodies. Needless to say, these "cure" didn't work, people still used them though. They were desperate to escape a horrible, painful death.
How do we stop this disease from spreading? Once it has hold, can be stopped? When it comes to these questions, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that if you are sick there are two antibiotics that can help. Chloramphenicol is prefered but, you can also use aminoglycosides. The bad news is that there is no vaccine to prevent the disease from getting into your bloodstream, where it then multiplies. However there are a few ways that the disease is spread that can be prevented. Don't let any animals bite you because, the virus can be carried by fleas that are on the animal. Rats and other rodents are most likely to carry the fleas, which have the disease. Another animal that is very likely to carry the disease are squirrels. The sickness can also be spread by air, so in areas that are known to have the disease wear a mask. Also you should keep clear of infected areas if you have an open wound. The bacteria could easily enter the bloodstream there.
How do I know if I or a loved one has the plague? There are many symptoms so the disease is sort of easy to identify. Some of the symptoms are very common in other illnesses, so if you see any of the following symptoms don't be alarmed. Fever, chills, weakness, and stomach pains are the common ones, but there are some symptoms that make Yersinia Pestis easy to identify such as, black skin sores or tissue death ( which appears black). Another symptom would be coughing up blood. If this happens go to the hospital immediately. This symptom means that there is blood in the lungs and they may drown on their own blood. This is a highly unpleasant death so I'd take my advice and go to the hospital. You'll want to see a doctor as soon as possible, the bacteria is much easier to kill while in the lag stage. The lag stage is when the bacteria is getting used to the environment so it doesn't reproduce as much as it usually would.
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Short stories
Короткий рассказA group of short stories that I wrote to pass the time, including fractured fairytales. Some of them are older and not as good. Any feedback you have would be helpful!
