Friday, October 27, 2017

"DEATH IS COMING Plague warning in NINE countries – including Brit holiday hotspots – amid fears BLACK DEATH could spread on flights from Madagascar"

It's probably nothing.
The headline is from The Sun, who have been known to get a bit overwrought.

South Africa's Daily Vox is taking a much calmer approach: 
Why we shouldn’t panic about South Africa’s WHO plague assessment

Here's The Sun:

The deadly plague outbreak has struck Madagascar's major cities sparking fears it has yet to 'peak' and could spread into the surrounding region
PLAGUE warnings have been issued for NINE countries surrounding Madagascar amid fears the disease could spread via sea trade and flight routes.

The outbreak is considered a much bigger threat to the region than in previous years because it has taken on its pneumonic form - meaning it is airborne and spread by sneezing and coughing.
  WHO has issued alerts for nine countries surrounding Madagascar where the outbreak has occurred
WHO has issued alerts for nine countries surrounding Madagascar where the outbreak has occurred
And experts say the epidemic could still worsen as the death tolls hits 124 and more than 1,300 are left infected.

The medieval disease famously wiped out ONE THIRD of Europe's population in the 13th and 14th centuries in one of the most devastating pandemics in human history known as the Black Death.
Dr Ashok Chopra, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas, told The Sun Online the crisis in Madagascar had yet to peak.

He warned it was possible for the deadly plague to move further into the region given the regular flights going in and out of the country....
...MUCH MORE

Another outpost of the Murdoch empire, News Corp., Australia is trying to look on the bright side:
Travel diseases that are much more deadly than the plague
Hey, it could be worse.
Meanwhile the Huffington Post is doing an explainer: "What You Need To Know About 'The Black Death'" and just a hint of panic comes through at Canada's Globe and Mail:
Pneumonic plague in Madagascar could 'explode' without intervention: Red Cross

Over the years we've had a few plague posts:
2014
Scientists Find the Black Death Had a Silver Lining
Next: The Upside of the Uzbek Anthrax Pits
2014
"Everything you know about the Black Death is wrong, say the bones" 
2014
"Scientists say the Black Death 'could happen again'"
2015
After 8 centuries, Rats Exonerated in Spread of Black Death. It May Have Been Their Cute Cousins, the Gerbils
2015
"Lessons From The Last Time Civilization Collapsed"

In 2017 we've had a noticeable uptick:
 January
The Black Death: Ecological Invasion Resembles a Drunken Walk More so Than Waves
June
"The end of the world is a growth industry."
July
Are Plagues and Wars The Only Way To Reduce Inequality?

The September 30 post where we first made mention of the problems in Madagascar:
The Extent Of The Coming Pension Storm Will Come To Light In 2018 (Don't mention the plague)

And there was that September 11 post:
Some folks have expressed concern over the dark tone of recent posts, what with the locusts and the earthquake, the treatment-resistant superbug coming out of China and the talk of ergot infesting the European food supply.

And famines and of course the hurricanes. So I want to dispel any rumors that may be spreading after this picture of the Monday morning meeting went viral:
https://hw.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/090617superbug.jpg
We do not have any advance warning of some catastrophe the reader hasn't yet heard of.
It's just that someone left something in the refrigerator over the long Labor Day weekend that was only discovered today and....let's just say, if you drop whatever it is on Pyongyang you could take out Kim Jong-Un and the rest of the Nork hierarchy with a kid's drone....

So except for the poor souls who are dying, in Madagascar no worries.
Here's ReliefWeb, October 26:
Madagascar Plague Outbreak: External Situation Report #6 - 26 October 2017