Panic sweeps Ely gripped in Bubonic Plague Scare...

Ely is today in turmoil as worried citizens jam switch boards asking for information after rumors of the outbreak of the deadly mediaeval plague which condemned 1 in 5 people world-wide, to an agonizing, but swift death.

Concern was first raised after details of the archaeological excavation carried out in Ely over the last month were released...


Ely OnLine has been inundated with calls from members of the public pointing out that the recent dig exposed the foundations of a building that was constructed in the same century as the Bubonic Plague.
The dreadful epidemic was spread by rat fleas and people are concerned that the bodies of the horses found may contain eggs of infected fleas.

Health officials assured us that flea eggs could not survive for over 600 years. Ely OnLine has discovered however that when buried, the equilibrium temperature would be sufficient to suspend life with a cryogenic like over-all capacity, which in layman terms means, who knows...?

Furthermore, other startling questions stem from news in the local paper which reads, "The ruins are thought to pre-date the Bishops Palace by at least a century". Inquirers have asked the question "why would this obviously important and large building be erected, yet pulled down within a century to make way for the smaller, and cruder Bishops Palace".
The shocking conclusion could be that the building was used as a hospital in the time of the plague being abandoned and pulled down after the emergency was over...
Add into the equation that this year, there is an unusually high number of rats, news that has been broadcast on radio and TV, the scene is set for understandable panic stations.
Ely OnLine has been amongst the first to alert the health authorities to the possible danger and has called for a proper Health Risk Assessment to be published.

For your information:
The Bubonic Plague, caused by the bacillus Yersinia Pestis, was known as the most fatal disease of the Middle Ages. The bacillus enters the blood stream going directly to the lymph nodes. Enlarging and inflaming of the glands causing buboes to appear in the groin, armpit, or neck. The plague is transmitted by the rat flea (Xenopsylla Cheopis). The flea gets the bacteria from a rat, and the flea then spreads the disease to humans. The bacteria completely fills the stomach of the flea making it so the flea can no longer digest any blood. The flea is so hungary that it sucks blood into the already full stomach forcing the flea to regurgitate, thus spreading the bacteria (Walker, 1992).
The first symptoms of the Bubonic Plague are headache, nausea, vomiting, and aching joints. The lymph nodes become painfully swollen and the average temperature raises between 101 degrees and 105 degrees F. The person becomes very exhausted and a purple tint in the victim's skin becomes present due to respiratory problems. Death comes in about four days after contracting the disease.

There were three major epidemics - in the 6th, 14th, and 17th centuries. The death toll was 137 million victims.
The medieval plague lasted off and on from 1330 until 1652, and killed 1 in 5 people.
Mostly people get Plague from unsanitary practices, where infected rodent feces get into food, much the same way E-Coli bacteria keeps getting into meat and beverages. Although long suspected this transmission was not proven until 1996, in India. 30 people contracted plague from contaminated food. 600 caught the plague from them. 1 infected person was apprehended in Canada.
The medieval Plague took 20 years to travel 1/2 way around the world...
In 1996 it took 8 days.
(Gordon Redthorn, medieval historian).

Healthwise Information Service:
0800 665544 for all health information.

Did you know..?
At its worst, the bubonic plague killed 2 million victims a year and is regarded as the worlds most deadly epidemic. However, there is one that is worse...
The pandemic (an epidemic that is spread worldwide) killed at least 25 million people in one year. The disease occurred in the 20th century and was the influenza of 1918-1919, right after World War I (the war killed 9 million in 4 years).


Story :aj@ge.ms