Looking for a non-Western lens to the Black Death? Try this translation of a work written in Mamluk Egypt
‘Merits of the Plague’ was written 600 years ago by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, a medieval polymath
After bats, do not make marmots into villains: Expert
The rodents have come into focus ever since reports surfaced of a bubonic plague outbreak in Mongolia, China and the Russian Far East
Plague case causes alarm
French researchers have identified the first case of bubonic plague resistant to antibiotics
Anatomy of the plague
The Black Death is an established phenomenon the world over, so there is no point pillorying India alone
Tiny terrors
Ecological changes have favoured their growth. They cannot be decimated. Then how do you cope with this rodent problem, asks ANAMITRA CHOUDHURY
Plague kills 40 in Africa’s Madagascar, El Nino blamed
High level of resistance to deltamethrin, an insecticide used to control fleas, has complicated the problem
The empire strikes back
Despite the progress in medical science, many old and new diseases seem to dodge us. Microbes which we bade farewell to, are raising their ugly …
Will plague return?
A plague bacterium that has developed resistance to several antibiotics may pose a serious threat to human health
Unravelling the Bombay plague
Room 000: Narratives Of The Bombay Plague is the story of the plague that killed thousands in Mumbai in the late 1890s. Very little was known …
Slippery bacillus
Despite desperate combing operations, the plague bacillus is playing hide-and-seek with doctors
Polemics over a pest
A controversy rages over whether the Surat plague bacillus was a secret hardsell by a Kazakh chemical firm
Stalking plague
PUBLIC HEALTH AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT — THE PLAGUE IN SURAT·Ghanshyam Shah· Sage Publications, New Delhi·Rs 395
A plague on this country
The plague today holds the same threshold of dread that it did in the 14th century. So when the Black Death struck India late last month, the …
An uncelebrated genius
Book>> Plague And Cholera • by Patrick Deville • Little Brown • US $17
Rat chronicles
The tiny rodents that most people link only to pestilence and crop destruction have fascinated Ishwar Prakash -- one of that rare breed: a rat …
Savage sapiens, ravaged planet and COVID-19
It may be difficult to have a planet that no longer uses oil or coal, does not kill millions of farmed animals, degrade wetlands and rivers
How pandemics fuel the rise of mega-corporations
The Black Death and COVID-19 seem to have caused concentration and centralisation of business and state power. The question is whether these …
What does quarantine mean and when did it begin
In the 14th century, ships arriving at Venice were made to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, was …
Chinese city sealed after man dies of plague
Police have cordoned off the entire town of Yumen in the north-western Chinese province of Gansu and restricted the movement of the residents
Another plague in the offing
The rash of leptospirosis cases in Mumbai during the current monsoon points towards the gradual breakdown of health services in burgeoning …
COVID-19: Lessons from past epidemics, natural disasters
India has a robust legal framework for disaster management, yet there are gaps in response and preparedness to fight COVID-19 outbreak
Countries vow to wipe out sheep and goat plague globally by 2030
The deadly animal disease causes a loss of US $2billion annually and has put livelihood of millions of poor at risk in 70 countries of Asia and Africa
Deadly solutions
To die, Warangal farmers have to no longer consume pesticides. A mere exposure is enough to kill them
"India's health infrastructure was never something to be pround of"
The panic created when the plague rippled out from Surat and threatened other parts of the country exposed India's complete lack of resources for …