Several centuries ago, the population of Europe was decimated when a disease known as "The Great Plague" or "The Black Death" swept across the continent, killing tens of millions and leaving a tragic mark on the pages of history. Since then, few other pandemics have come even close to causing as much destruction, and - luckily for us - the illness has never had a global resurgence.

However, even today, individual cases of bubonic plague still arise, often in less economically developed countries with poorer access to healthcare and disease control. Last week, though, it was reported that one child in Idaho, USA, had contracted the deadly disease.

Symptoms of the illness include a sudden fever, severe chills, a headache, and general overall weakness. Famously, the disease also commonly causes the development of buboes: dark, painful lumps that sprout in the lymph nodes around the groin, armpit and neck.

It is not clear what sort of physical state the afflicted boy is in, but he is said to be recovering after receiving antibiotic treatment.

According to officials, this case is the second human diagnosis in the state in almost three decades, but medical professionals are not overly concerned about another epidemic beginning, as person-to-person transmission is actually very rare.

"Plague is spread to humans through a bite from an infected flea. People can decrease their risk by treating their pets for fleas and avoiding contact with wildlife," explained Sarah Correll, D.V.M., Central District Health Department epidemiologist. In order for others in the same area of Elmore County, Idaho, to avoid contracting the illness, Correll advises: "Wear insect repellent, long pants and socks when visiting plague-affected areas."

It has not yet been confirmed how exactly the child contracted the disease, but apparently, he had recently visited Oregon, and a total of eight human cases of bubonic plague have been confirmed there since 1990. However, it has also been confirmed that squirrels in the area where the boy lives had previously tested positive for the plague in 2015 and 2016 - albeit no cases of the infection were confirmed last year.

The Central District Health Department has offered the following advice to Idaho residents:

"Don’t touch or handle wild rodents or their carcasses.

"Keep your pets from roaming and hunting rodents. This is important – when an animal
dies from the plague, fleas leave the body and look for another host, which could be your pet, especially if it rolls in a carcass or eats it.

"Talk to your veterinarian about flea control for your pets before venturing out to ground squirrel areas, and follow the directions on the label. Not all flea products are safe for dogs and cats.

"If you find a group of dead ground squirrels, you can report it to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on its plague website.

"Don’t feed rodents in campgrounds, picnic areas, or near your home.

"Clean up areas near your home where rodents could live.

"Store hay, wood and compost piles as far as possible away from your home.

"Don’t leave pet food and water where rodents can get to them."

Fortunately, thanks to medical advancements and access to treatment in the USA, the boy is expected to survive the ordeal. Others, however, have not been so lucky in recent history. Just last year, for example, 200 people in Madagascar succumbed to the illness.

Other residents of Idaho should be assured they have nothing to worry about - but symptoms of the illness should always be seen to as soon as possible if there is any suspicion that it could be a case of the plague.

No one likes going to the doctors - so when you realise you're ill enough to warrant a visit, it just adds to the misery of being ill. However, you can rest assured that it's probably not as bad as you're expecting it to be. But, in the case of this 15-year-old, he found that he was struck with an incredibly rare disease - one that was far more common in the 18th century.

This British teenager has become infected with the cowpox virus - breaking out in red lesions on his hands, feet and arms - after feeding calves on his family farm. The medical professionals who saw to the boy, from Wrexham in Wales, said they had never come across it in their entire careers.

The last reported human case was in Wales 15 years ago, and the disease has practically died out.

The boy, who chose to remain unnamed, was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital, where he was diagnosed. "We were really unsure what it was," the boy's mother said. "The one on his ankle was worrying - it was weeping a clear liquid down his ankle."

"I didn’t really know what it was, so I was quite concerned. The first thing you do is look on the internet and that’s when I found out it was quite rare.

"My son was quite embarrassed – it looked quite a mess, the lesions weren’t nice and it wasn’t pleasant for him.

"It took weeks and weeks to go, a long time. He still has some marks on his hands."

The virus was often caught by milking maids in the 18th century - as the virus can pass from species to species. It isn't very contagious, thankfully, and has almost disappeared as so few cows are milked by hand in the modern world.

Three months ago. the calves the 15-year-old were feeding had broken the skin on his hands, with the grazes exposing his blood to the contagion.

Dr Aysha Javed, who diagnosed the teenager, said it was the first case of cowpox she has ever seen. "I think the boy and his family were quite bemused when we told them – I don’t think they expected that to be the diagnosis," she said. "I think it was very itchy for him but it wasn’t particularly painful."

His case came to light when Dr Javed and her colleagues alerted other medics to it during a recent European Society for Pediatric Dermatology annual meeting. Dr Javed said:

"We have to inform other colleagues about rare cases and, if it’s something that’s going to be re-emerging, public health professionals need to be alerted.

"We don’t really see cowpox anymore – it’s one of those diseases that went away.’

A British Association of Dermatologists spokesman said that while the resurgence is interesting, this case is not "particularly worrying as cowpox tends to be benign in nature to otherwise healthy people".

Soldiers in hazmat suits spraying disinfectant, drones buzzing overhead, and sweeping quarantines; these images, eerily reminiscent of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, are once again unfolding across parts of China.

This time, the country is battling a different threat: the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus, which has infected more than 7,000 people so far.

The outbreak has prompted a swift and wide-ranging response. But it's not just humans fighting the virus; authorities have also enlisted the help of a surprising ally: elephant mosquitoes, a species whose larvae feed on the virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes.

As previously reported, Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes — the same genus responsible for spreading dengue, Zika, and yellow fever.

It cannot be spread from person to person through coughing or touching but can, in rare cases, be transmitted through infected blood or blood products, per The Independent.

There is no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for Chikungunya. Symptoms typically appear four to eight days after a bite from an infected mosquito and include high fever, rash, fatigue, and intense joint pain; a symptom so severe that it inspired the disease's name, which comes from the Kimakonde word meaning “to become contorted.”

While most people recover within a week, some develop chronic joint pain that can last for months or even years. In rare cases, the virus can be fatal, especially in vulnerable populations, per the World Health Organization (WHO).

In China, the worst-hit region is Foshan city in Guangdong Province, where nearly 3,000 cases were reported last week alone. At least 12 other cities in the province have also confirmed infections.

Authorities have responded by intensifying mosquito control efforts; clearing stagnant water, installing window screens, and deploying insecticides. Most notably, they've introduced Toxorhynchites or “elephant mosquitoes,” which don’t bite humans but feed on the larvae of virus-spreading species.

At present, the risk of local transmission in the US remains low. While small outbreaks have occurred previously from travelers who'd been to foreign countries, there haven't been any reports of the virus being locally acquired since 2019, according to Forbes.

The outlet also detailed that Chikungunya was "rarely found" in the US prior to 2006, and that about 28 people per year tested positive from 2006 to 2013.

With nearly 5.6 billion people worldwide living in at-risk areas, WHO has urged countries to ramp up preparedness to avoid repeating past mistakes. As Dr. Rojas Alvarez warned: “We are seeing history repeat itself.”

Featured image credit: IMAGE POINT FR/NIH/NIAID/BSIP // Universal Images Group / Getty Images.

Anyone who owns a cat is likely to count their furry companion as one of the best things in their life. However, one American pensioner recently had a traumatic experience with his feline when he allegedly contacted an incredibly rare disease from it.

The 68-year-old from Missouri was diagnosed with glandular tularemia after he suffered from a fever and a painful swelling on the right side of his neck, an illness doctors reportedly believe originated from his pet.

The unusual incident started when the pensioner's cat died two days before he showed any symptoms, with a vet diagnosing it with feline leukemia without doing any lab testing. It is believed the cat must have been suffering from a subacute illness but was treated with prednisone tablets, administrated by its owner.

Shortly after, the man experienced a week of fever, which was followed by two months of progressive, painful swelling on the right side of his neck. When he eventually saw a doctor, the patient’s physical examination revealed three erythematous, tender lymph nodes.

The 68-year-old American was then diagnosed with glandular tularemia, a rare disease caused by the Francisella tularensis bacterium, which reportedly has over a 50 per cent chance of leading to fatal pneumonia.

After examining him, doctors at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, have since determined that his pet cat must have been suffering from tularemia, which it passed on to its owner.

"Domestic cats can become infected through the consumption of infected prey and can transmit the bacteria to humans," states the New England Journal of Medicine, which first published the story on September 6, 2018.

Thankfully, the patient was treated with doxycycline for 4 weeks and his condition eventually passed; the lesions improved within 5 days and resolved within 3 weeks.

Tularemia is a rare infectious disease that commonly attacks the skin, eyes, lymph nodes and lungs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that it largely affects rabbits, hares and rodents which often die in large numbers during outbreaks.

In addition, the website notes that humans can become infected through several routes, including tick and deer fly bites, skin contact with infected animals, ingestion of contaminated water, inhalation of contaminated aerosols agricultural dusts and laboratory exposure.

Humans could also be exposed as a result of bioterrorism, defined as the "use of infectious agents or other harmful biological or biochemical substances as weapons of terrorism".

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that people potentially at risk take steps to avoid the disease by using insect repellent, wearing gloves when handling sick or dead animals and avoiding mowing over dead animals.