CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

pan⋅dem⋅ic  /pænˈdɛmɪk/ Spelled Pronunciation [pan-dem-ik] –adjective

1. (of a disease) prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area.

Today's Cool Image is an illustration of the virus that causes Bubonic Plague, by CMSP illustrator Laura Olear.

The Bubonic Plague caused a massive pandemic in the world in 1330 in which countless people died. It was recognized by black spots called by bubos caused by swollen and infected lymph glands and by gangrene due to a devastated circulatory system. It came to be known as the Black Death. It was spread by fleas which transmitted the disease from rats to humans.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, plague was used as a bacteriological weapon by the Imperial Japanese Army. These weapons were provided by Shirō Ishii's units and used in experiments on humans before being used on the field. For example, in 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service bombed Ningbo with fleas carrying the bubonic plague.[2] During the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials the accused, such as Major General Kiyashi Kawashima, testified that, in 1941, some 40 members of Unit 731 air-dropped plague-contaminated fleas on Changde. These operations caused epidemic plague outbreaks.

In modern times, several classes of antibiotics are effective in treating bubonic plague. These include the aminoglycosides streptomycin and gentamicin, the tetracyclines, tetracycline and doxycycline, and the fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin. Patients with plague in the modern era usually recover completely with prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Wash your hands!!!!

Custom Medical Stock Photo has images of the virus that causes Swine flu, the plague and of people washing their hands :)

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