Dance with the Dead

"Dance With the Dead"

Pagan Ritual May Turn Bubonic Plague into Global Pandemic - Breaking Israel News

As the current epidemic of bubonic plague grows in Madagascar, threatening to spread beyond the borders, a strange local ritual of dancing with the bones of dead relatives may be behind the pace of the unprecedented outbreak.

In previous years, the plague was the bubonic strain of the disease, transmitted and carried by rat-borne fleas, with outbreaks isolated to rural villages. The current epidemic is the pneumonic strain, showing up in urban centers, transmitted via coughing or sneezing. It can be fatal within 12-24 hours and if untreated, has a 100 percent mortality rate.

The World Health Organization (WHO) originally described the risk of a multinational pandemic as very low but, as the epidemic in Madagascar grows, has upgraded that assessment. "Due to the increased risk of further spread and the severe nature of the disease, the overall risk at the national level is considered very high," the WHO said in its latest statement.

Their concern is well-founded. Bubonic plague in the 14th century, also known as the Black Death, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia and in Europe, or roughly one-third of the world population.

- Father, we pray for an effective education and hygiene campaign to eliminate this dreadful disease from Madagascar. We also pray You would help the Madagascans abandon this pagan tradition and embrace Your Son.

- There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12