Welcome to the Middle Ages

It's 1348 all over again:

An outbreak of plague in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 61 diamond miners and infected hundreds more, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. Many of the 7,000 miners working in Zobia, north of the city of Kisangani, have fled since the outbreak began two months ago, and could have spread the highly contagious disease, the United Nations agency said. *** Plague, which is spread between rodents by fleas, can also be transmitted to people through infected rodent flea bites. It has a case-fatality rate of 50 percent to 60 percent among humans if not treated with antibiotics, WHO says.

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I am not a fan of the UN. However, I have the greatest admiration for those WHO employees who routinely put their own health at risk to try and contain the world's worst infectious diseases.