07/08/2024
Black Death, Bubonic Plague case detected in the US
According to a press release from The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE) is working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to investigate a confirmed human case of the plague in Pueblo County, Colorado.
According to the CDC:
- Plague is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis.
- Plague occurs naturally in areas of the western United States, where it circulates among wild rodents and other animals.
- Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but treatment must be given quickly.
Plague is a disease that affects humans and other mammals. It is caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Humans usually become infected through the bite of an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal. Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but these must be given promptly to prevent serious illness or death. Plague is infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. Nowadays, it is a rare but persistent cause of illness in rural areas in the western United States and certain regions of Africa and Asia.
Plague symptoms depend on how the patient was infected.
The most common forms of plague are bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic.
Bubonic plague: Patients develop fever, headache, chills, and weakness and one or more swollen, painful lymph nodes (called buboes). This form usually results from the bite of an infected flea, with an incubation period of 2 to 8 days. The bacteria multiply in a lymph node near where the bacteria entered the human body. If the patient is not treated with the appropriate antibiotics, the bacteria can spread to other parts of the body.
Septicemic plague: Patients develop fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs. Skin and other tissues may turn black and die, especially on fingers, toes, and the nose. Septicemic plague can occur as the first symptom of plague or may develop from untreated bubonic plague. This form results from bites of infected fleas or from handling an infected animal. The incubation period of septicemic plague is poorly defined but likely occurs within days of exposure.
Pneumonic plague: Patients develop fever, headache, weakness, and a rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery mucous. Pneumonic plague develops when bacteria spread to the lungs of a patient with untreated bubonic or septicemic plague, or when a person inhales infectious droplets coughed out by another person or animal with pneumonic plague. Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of the disease and is the only form of plague that can be spread from person to person. The incubation period of pneumonic plague following inhalation can be as short as +1 day.
How it spreads
The plague bacteria can be transmitted to humans in the following ways:
Flea bites. Plague bacteria are most often transmitted by the bite of an infected flea. During plague epizootics, many rodents die, causing hungry fleas to seek other sources of blood. People and animals that visit places where rodents have recently died from plague are at risk of being infected from flea bites. Dogs and cats may also bring plague-infected fleas into the home. Flea bite exposure may result in primary bubonic plague or septicemic plague.
Contact with contaminated fluid or tissue. Humans can become infected when handling tissue or body fluids of a plague-infected animal. For example, a hunter skinning a rabbit or other infected animal without using proper precautions (e.g., gloves) could become infected with plague bacteria. This form of exposure most commonly results in bubonic plague or septicemic plague.
Infectious droplets. Humans and animals with plague pneumonia can sometimes cough droplets containing plague bacteria into the air. These bacteria-containing droplets can cause pneumonic plague in another person if inhaled. Typically, this requires direct and close contact with the person or animal with pneumonic plague. Transmission of these droplets is the only way that plague can spread between people. Person-to-person spread has not been documented in the United States since 1924, but there continue to be rare cases of pneumonic plague among people exposed to sick cats. Cats are particularly susceptible to plague and can be infected by eating infected rodents. Cats with plague pose a risk of transmitting infectious plague droplets to their owners or to veterinarians.
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