Information on the Plague provided by YourVitalHealth.com in association with The Arizona Institute of Natural Medicine

Alternative names back to top
Bubonic plague; Pneumonic plague

Organism
Yersinia pestis bacteria

Overview
Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is found in rodents and their fleas in many areas around the world. There are two types of plague, bubonic and pneumonic. Bubonic plague is spread by the bite of an infected animal or flea; pneumonic plague is spread by infectious droplets from the cough of an infected person. As a biological weapon, plague would be most effectively delivered as an aerosol spray, which would infect the lungs causing severe breathing difficulties. The first signs of illness in pneumonic plague are fever, headache, weakness, and cough that produces a bloody or watery sputum. The pneumonia progresses rapidly over 2 to 4 days and may cause septic shock and death unless treatment is begun immediately.

Carriers back to top
The Plague is carried by wild rodents such as rats, mice and squirrels, or their fleas. The plague can also be transmitted through human to human spread of infected droplets by coughing.

Biological Weapons Use
Biological Weapons Use The Plague bacterium has been made into an aerosolized powder that can be deployed as a biological weapon. The former Soviet Union's Biopreparat stockpiled large quantities of the powder, which was designed to be loaded into MIRV warheads to be launched via missiles. Once over their target, the biological warheads would be parachuted down to a designated altitude where they would break apart. Each warhead would then release a hundred oval bomblets the size of small cantaloupes, which would fly out a distance and then split in overlapping patterns, releasing a haze of biopartilces that would quickly become invisible and float to the ground. It is believed that several nations now possess powdered biological weapons or have the capability to manufacture them, including Russia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, China, and North Korea.

Toxicity back to top
There were three major epidemics of the Plague, in the 6th, 14th, and 17th centuries. The death rate was 90% for those exposed to the bacterium. It was transmitted by the fleas from infected Old English black rats. From the time of infection to death was less than one week. The death toll reached 137 million victims. As a result, the plague is considered to be the worst epidemic of all time.

Contagiousness
Person-to-person transmission of pneumonic plague occurs through respiratory droplets, which can only infect those who have face-to-face contact with the ill patient by coughing, sneezing, or simply talking. Endemic areas in the U.S. are California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, where a low level is spread among animals by rats and squirrels.

Incubation back to top
Incubation The incubation period is 2 to 12 days but may be as short as a few hours for pneumonic plague.

Prognosis
Half of bubonic plague victims die if not treated, and almost all victims of pneumonic plague die if not treated.Treatment reduces the death rate to 5%.

Prevention back to top
The key to prevention is a healthy immune system. Since it is known that 50% of the population recovers from the Plague even if untreated, a healthy immune response is your best defense. To make certain that you keep your immune system at its peak, Dr. Hansen recommends the following:

Vaccines back to top
Vaccines There is no vaccine against the Plague. If the Plague is found in the U.S. Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense P: 1 tablet once per week for 4 weeks as a precaution.

Treatment
Early treatment of pneumonic plague is essential. Without early treatment most people die. Several antibiotics are effective, including streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol. Antibiotic treatment for 7 days will protect persons who have been exposed to Yersinia through face-to-face contact with infected patients. Oxygen, intravenous fluids, and respiratory support are additional treatments. Patients with pneumonic plague are strictly isolated from other patients. People who have had contact with anyone infected by pneumonic plague are observed closely and are given antibiotics as a preventive measure.

Note: Oral tetracycline is usually not prescribed for children until after all the permanent teeth have erupted. It can permanently discolor teeth that are still forming.

Additionally, Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense P: 1 tablet 4 times daily, every 4 hours. (Note: For an exposure without confirmed infection, Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense P: 1 tablet once daily for 14 days as a precaution.)

Homeopathic Biological Defense P back to top
Homeopathic medicines are natural, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that work via amplification of the body's own healing response. Homeopathic medicines have been used to treat the symptoms of the Plague for more than 100 years. There are multiple historical references that praise the use of these homeopathic remedies during epidemic outbreaks. In 1901, John Henry Clarke, M.D. wrote, "The recent outbreak of plague in the East has recalled the fact that Ignatia amara has earned a reputation as curative even in that disease (plague). Honigberger relates that when plague was raging in Constantinople, he administered "minute doses" of it (Ignatia) to patients affected with plague with the best success. Later on he himself caught the disease in India, and cured himself with the same remedy." (H.W. xxxiii.51).

Homeopathic Biological Defense Remedy Indications
The following is a list of indications for each Homeopathic medicine included in the formula for Homeopathic Biological Defense P as described in the approved Homeopathic Materia Medica recognized by the FDA and the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States.