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      "utf8": "The black plague is one of the \ndeadliest diseases humans have  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– including about a third of \nthe population of Europe –"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "in the 14th century alone, in an \noutbreak known as the Black Death."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "In modern days, though, you hardly ever \nhear about people getting the plague,  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which might make you think we've wiped it out."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But the black plague is still \naround and still infecting people"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– and we aren't even trying to eradicate it."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "The black plague – technically known as the  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "“bubonic” plague – is caused by a \nbacteria called Yersinia pestis."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "This germ has a life cycle that normally goes back  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and forth between fleas and rodents. \nBut occasionally it jumps into humans."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "And in humans, the disease is nasty; it \nfills a person’s lymph nodes with pus"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– sometimes to the point of bursting – \nand eventually shuts down their organs."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "In times and places where lots of humans \nlived alongside lots of rats and fleas"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– like areas of poverty in big, crowded \ncities – the plague could spread far and fast;"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "this has happened again and again \nthroughout history and around the world."
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      "utf8": "So you’d think we’d be doing everything in \nour power to kill it off once and for all"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– but we aren’t."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "It is true that, as we’ve distanced ourselves from \nrats and fleas and learned how to interrupt the  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "transmission of infectious diseases, we've stopped \nthe plague from turning into a modern pandemic."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But Yersinia pestis hasn’t completely disappeared;  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "now, it’s just hiding out in \npopulations of wild rodents."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Most of these critters don’t \nget super-sick from the plague,  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "so the disease just lurks in \nthese so-called “reservoirs”"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– and every once in a while, \nit infects an unlucky human."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "These days, only about a thousand people \nworldwide get the plague each year"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "– that’s about half as many \nas get struck by lightning,  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which is pretty much the benchmark for rare-ness."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Plus, a course of modern antibiotics \ncan generally treat the infection."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "So one reason we’re not trying to eliminate the \nplague is that it isn’t a big medical priority."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Another big reason is that completely eradicating \nthis disease is simply too much trouble."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "In fact, we’ve tried – and failed! About a \nhundred years ago, the Soviet Union funneled  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "poison into burrows all across the country \nin an effort to destroy rodents that might  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "be carrying the disease, and sprayed massive \namounts of insecticides to kill infected fleas."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But they couldn’t kill off every single \npotential plague-infected critter,  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and the rodents and fleas kept bouncing \nback, still carrying the plague."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Around the world, there are dozens of different  "
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "rodent species that serve as \nreservoirs for Yersinia pestis."
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      "utf8": "Killing them all off would \nbe incredibly difficult,  "
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      "utf8": "if not impossible, not to mention \na complete ecological nightmare."
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      "utf8": "That, combined with the fact that the plague \nisn’t much of a major medical issue anymore,  "
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      "utf8": "Ultimately, we haven't gotten rid \nof the plague because these days,  "
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