Home Health Center
Plague
Plague - Prevention
Prevention from Plague
Educating the masses about the fatal nature of the epidemic, effective management of the environment and the use of preventives are certain measures that are enacted for preventing plague. Some of the preventive measures in this regard include the following:
- Instilling public awareness among the masses in areas that are prone to attacks by wild rodents. They should refrain from feeding rodents in their homes and surroundings. It is also essential to keep the environment clean and free of clutter and junk that can house many rodents, which can be carriers of the disease.
- Licensed insecticides that are safe to use, should be sprayed in the surroundings to kill fleas that are instrumental in the transmission of the bacteria.
- Pets like cats, dogs and rabbits need to be screened and treated for flea control, at least once a fortnight or so.
- Once, cases of plague have been reported, the entire area should be under surveillance. All steps should be taken to contain the disease and effectively eradicate the bacteria, so as to prevent any recurrence of the disease.
- In case the number of wild rodents invading the human territory is quite large, measures should be taken to eradicate the rodents as well.
- When situations demand close contact with patients suffering from plague, caregivers may resort to preventive measures by taking prescribed doses of antibiotics.
- Vaccinations used to be taken in earlier days, but now are no longer available as a preventive measure for the ailment.
Above all medical ways of addressing the Black disease, before or after its outbreak, it is essential to stay away from wild rodents, which are natural reservoirs of the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Control of fleas is also a requisite as they are the fastest mode of transmission of the disease. Any medicines taken for or to prevent the disease should be under the strict supervision of a medical practitioner alone. In unavoidable cases, where the infection breaks out, preventing its spread to other people should be prioritized. This should be ensured because if left untreated, plague or Black fever can be fatal.