Black Death Discovered In Oregon: Man Contracts Bubonic Plague From Cat, Hospitalized In 'Critical Condition' - International Bu

What next?

fluffy Jul 07, 2012

There are a few cases of it every year in the US, and it is easily treated with antibiotics that weren't available in the 1300's when it wiped out a good part of the earth's population. There are lots of potentially lethal organisms all around us, but reasonably good health and sanitation keeps them in check for most of us most of the time. When I was a kid I remember reading about the plague in an old encyclopedia that said a major way of acquiring it was walking barefoot. That spooked me for quite a while, but then I realized that I never knew anyone who ever got the plague or numerous other horrid contagious diseases, barefoot or otherwise.

Want something a little closer to home to keep you up at night? Almost every kitchen sponge in the world carries Acinetobacter bacteria. It very rarely infects humans, but when it does, it's very hard to treat, because it's resistant to almost all antibiotics. Nuke that kitchen sponge every day!