Demagogue

Mice Infected With Bubonic Plague Missing

Nothing to worry about, supposedly, it's just a few plague-infected rats are missing from a lab in Newark, New Jersey that conducts bioterrorism research for the federal government.

Kidding aside, the bubonic plague is still around. But that's not the scary kind.

Health officials say 10 to 20 people in the United States contract [bubonic] plague each year, usually through infected fleas or rodents. It can be treated with antibiotics, but about one in seven U.S. cases is fatal. Bubonic plague is not contagious, but left untreated it can transform into pneumonic plague, which can be spread from person to person.

The incident came as federal authorities investigate possible corruption in the school's finances. The FBI is reviewing political donations and millions of dollars in no-bid contracts awarded to politically connected firms.

Apparently the Public Health Research Institute is plagued by more than a few plague rats.