Again, I'm not trying to scare you. Well, maybe just a little bit. All I'm saying is the plague exists and it will get you. OK, it probably won't get you, but here's what I've found out about it in one of my exhaustive research sessions.
The Plague is a disease typically spread by rodents (not unlike our friend the rat). Humans are bitten by the fleas carrying the bacterial disease living on the rats.Plague has has three forms: Bubonic plague,septicemia plague, and pneumonic plague. They respectively affect the lymph nodes, the blood, and the lungs. Pneumonic plague is the most contagious because of its ability to transmit via blood and fluid droplets in the air.
Here's where it gets really gross: symptoms of infection
How do people get plague?
- Infected flea bites
- Contact with body fluids of a plague-infected animal
- Inhalation of airborne droplets from persons or animals, such as rats, but ironically cats as well; they're big carriers of plague pneumonia
- And finally, here's the "Outbreak" scenario, by exposure in a laboratory
Here's where it gets really gross: symptoms of infection
After exposure via bite or whatever, the Plague makes a b-line for the bloodstream and on to the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes swell into what are called buboes, the rock star characteristic of bubonic plague. Other symptoms include: fever, headache, chills, and extreme tiredness. If gone untreated, plague typically devours the body within a week, maybe a few days.
So, what does all of this have to do with rat control you ask? I'm not sure. But it makes me not like rats that much more.
