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Today, in Things You Probably All Know
Jun. 7th, 2006 10:24 amMy favorite game that the kids are playing this week is incorrect trivia about the bubonic plague.
They have asserted the following:
- That the bubonic plague is gone.
- That the plague originated in Europe.
- That the plague occurs now only in Africa and Asia, where people are less likely to have ancestors who survived the plague, and therefore less likely to have inherited immunity.
- That having ancestors who survived the plague has made some people resistant or immune to HIV.
For the record, while outbreaks are more likely to occur in developing nations, this isn't because of inherited immunities which protect Europeans, it's because inhabitants of first world nations are less likely to come into close contact with rats and fleas, and more likely to receive immediate and effective treatment for the disease when diagnosed. The most recent outbreak was in the Congo in late 2004 and early 2005 (it involved mine workers - I suspect that you can't *get* better conditions for plague transmission than a workday with infected fleas in a mine). Someone in Los Angeles was diagnosed with it in April of this year, a case described as the city's first since 1984. The plague originated in Asia, and has swept that continent, as well as Europe, a whole bunch of times. It's also hit the Middle East and biggish chunks of Africa. I would be shocked if anyone reading this LJ has no ancestors who survived the plague, and even more shocked if research has been done that even suggests that a genetic resistance to the bacillus Yersinia Pestis conferred resistance to any retrovirus at all.
I know all this fun stuff about bubonic plague, and I don't know how to find a roofer in Dorchester. Can someone explain to me how the decision process on what to put in my head worked out like that?
They have asserted the following:
- That the bubonic plague is gone.
- That the plague originated in Europe.
- That the plague occurs now only in Africa and Asia, where people are less likely to have ancestors who survived the plague, and therefore less likely to have inherited immunity.
- That having ancestors who survived the plague has made some people resistant or immune to HIV.
For the record, while outbreaks are more likely to occur in developing nations, this isn't because of inherited immunities which protect Europeans, it's because inhabitants of first world nations are less likely to come into close contact with rats and fleas, and more likely to receive immediate and effective treatment for the disease when diagnosed. The most recent outbreak was in the Congo in late 2004 and early 2005 (it involved mine workers - I suspect that you can't *get* better conditions for plague transmission than a workday with infected fleas in a mine). Someone in Los Angeles was diagnosed with it in April of this year, a case described as the city's first since 1984. The plague originated in Asia, and has swept that continent, as well as Europe, a whole bunch of times. It's also hit the Middle East and biggish chunks of Africa. I would be shocked if anyone reading this LJ has no ancestors who survived the plague, and even more shocked if research has been done that even suggests that a genetic resistance to the bacillus Yersinia Pestis conferred resistance to any retrovirus at all.
I know all this fun stuff about bubonic plague, and I don't know how to find a roofer in Dorchester. Can someone explain to me how the decision process on what to put in my head worked out like that?
