First in 4 years… One person died of plague in the USA

It was announced that one person died of plague in the Lincoln region of New Mexico, USA. After this death, plague doctors came to the fore again.

Following the statement of the Health Directorate of the US State of New Mexico on March 8, the news about the person who died of plague was widely covered in the US press. In the written statement of the Health Directorate, it was reported that the person who caught the plague in the Lincoln region of the state died after being hospitalized. In the statement, it was announced that the case was recorded as “the first person to die from plague in New Mexico since 2020.”

In the statement, it was noted that one of the four people who caught the plague in 2020 in the state died, and the last plague case was seen in 2021, and that health officials will contact the residents of the region to determine the risk.

PLAGUE OUTBREAK

Plague is transmitted to humans and animals from infected lice or animals carrying the disease. Bubonic plague, the most common form of plague, can be treated with antibiotics for 7 to 14 days if diagnosed early. Almost half of the continent’s population lost their lives in the plague epidemic known as the “Black Death” that devastated Europe in the mid-1300s.

PLAGUE DOCTORS

Plague doctors were doctors who treated the victims of the plague epidemic that especially surrounded Europe in the Middle Ages. Especially in case of a plague epidemic in villages and towns, plague doctors who were hired by the public and brought to the town were only paid if they cured everyone, rich or poor. Some plague doctors wore special costumes. His clothes were designed by Charles de L’orme in 1630. The clothes, which were first used in Naples, later spread throughout Europe. The protective costume consisted of a light, polished cloth coat and a mask with a beak-shaped mouthpiece and glass eyes, usually filled with herbs, straw, and spices. Plague doctors also carried a cane with them to treat the patient without contact.

The scented items they carry with them; It contained mulberries, amber, roses, spearmint (mint), leaves, camphor, cloves, laudanum, myrrh, and bear nuts. In the early days when the disease was first understood, it was believed that this costume would protect the doctor from the dirty air while looking after the patient.