6 Plague Today

6 Plague Today

This chapter contains a brief overview of plague today (current foci, epidemiology, clinical symptoms, causative agent, treatment, and prophylaxis), as seen from the viewpoint of the medical and scientific community. It is not an ‘‘argument’’ but a description of our current observations and understanding of the disease. Three plague pandemics are traditionally described during the Christian er...

Plague

Plague is a disease that has been present for thousands of years and described since the earliest medical accounts. It occurs today worldwide, and may present in a variety of clinical forms. Bubonic disease, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague are seen in addition to a number of other less common manifestations. As an agent of bioterrorism,Yersinia pestis could pose an extreme threat if rel...

The plague

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was born in Algeria, which was then a French colonial possession. His father was killed in battle in World War I a year after Albert’s birth, leaving his family in poverty. Camus worked his way through the university of Algiers by doing odd jobs, but dropped out after a severe bout of tuberculosis. He then turned to journalism, writing for an anti-colonial newspaper in ...

Plague Control

Alzheimer's Disease: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Alzheimer's disease is the most common and well - known cause of dementia, as a progressive, irreversible brain disorder that affects cognitive function, personality, thought, perception and behaviour. Alzheimer's disease is the fourth leading cause of death in western countries. Interesting to know that this disease was unknown in medical community till 100 years ago and had no name. Dr. Alois...