Felicia Padilla 5th period: The United States ranks 11th in plague cases worldwide

"United States ranks 11th in plague cases worldwide"


Summary:  The United States of America is Currently ranked 11th in the world in cases of plague. The United States has had 57 cases of plague in the past decade, which is far from the congo which has had almost 11,000 cases and Madagascar which has had a little over 7000 cases. The United States is the only wealthy country on the list. 97% of the list is made up of African countries. The Black death which used to be carried by bacteria in rodents in Europe in the 14th century can now be found in rural squirrels and prairie dogs in the American Southwest. Even with this in mind most cases come from flea bites. A vaccine is expected to be invented in the next decade.

Analysis: I guess the saying "history always repeats itself is true." Just because this information is not surprising it doesn't mean that it isn't scary. It should make Americans nervous that they have a chance of catching the Black death or black plague(which is known to have killed many people.) I think many people in America take the risk of getting infected by a disease or bacteria way too lightly.  Many people think that just because we're in an era of technology and innovation, any  vaccine or any cure can just be created at the blink of an eye. One of the most disturbing things about this article is that 97% of the cases are from Africa. What does this say about the society of all seven continents? of all over 200 countries? If an overwhelming number of cases are coming from one specific area shouldn't that be a clue that maybe the rest of the world should be caring more for that country and less about ourselves? If Africa is the main place where these cases are breaking out and many other countries don't have even as close to as many cases as Africa does,  it obviously means that the rest of the world has resources and knowledge that Africa deserves to have but doesn't have. We not only as Americans but as humans should be helping out people in need.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/science/united-states-ranks-11th-in-plague-cases-worldwide.html