Officials in central Oregon this week reported case of bubonic plague in a resident who likely became infected from a sick domestic cat.
The infected resident and his close contacts have been provided with medications and people in the community are not believed to be at risk, public health officials said. The cat was also treated, but he did not survive.
Plague is not common, but it is also not uncommon in the western United States, where several cases occur each year. It is different from alascapox, a rare, recently discovered disease. killed a man in Alaska last month.
Here are a few things to know about what the plague is, who is at risk, and how a disease that was once a harbinger of death has become a treatable disease.
What is plague?
Plague is an infectious disease that can affect mammals. It is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is carried by rodents and fleas. According to scientists, sunlight and drying can kill plague bacteria on surfaces. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People and pets with suspected plague are usually treated with antibiotics and sometimes other medical measures.
Symptoms of plague can manifest in different ways. Bubonic plague, which affects Oregonians, occurs when plague bacteria enter the lymph nodes. This may cause fever, headache, weakness and soreness, and swollen lymph nodes. It usually occurs from the bite of an infected flea, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of septicemic plague occur when bacteria enter the bloodstream. This can happen initially or after bubonic plague goes untreated. This form of plague causes the same fever, chills, and weakness, as well as abdominal pain, shock, and sometimes other symptoms such as bleeding on the skin and blackening of the fingers, toes, or nose. The CDC says this form is caused by flea bites or contact with an infected animal.
Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of the disease and occurs when bacteria enter the lungs. Pneumonic plague adds rapidly developing pneumonia to the list of plague symptoms. It is the only form of plague that can be transmitted from person to person by inhaling infectious droplets.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all forms of plague are treatable with common antibiotics, and people who seek treatment early have a better chance of making a full recovery.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are an average of 7 cases of human plague each year in the United States, and about 80% of these are the bubonic form of the disease. Most of these cases occurred in rural areas in the west and southwest USA
A welder in central Oregon contracted it in 2012 after he pulled the rodent from the mouth of a choking cat in 2012. He survived, but due to the disease he lost the tips of his fingers and toes. A Colorado teen suffered a fatal case while hunting in 2015, and Colorado officials confirmed at least two cases last year — one of them fatal.
Worldwide, the majority of plague cases in recent decades have occurred in people living in rural towns and villages in Africa, especially Madagascar and Congo, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
People can reduce the risk of plague by making their homes and outdoor living areas less attractive to rodents, clearing brush and debris piles, and keeping pet food out of reach. Gophers, chipmunks, and woodrats can carry plague just like other rodents, so people who have bird and squirrel feeders may want to consider the risks if they live in areas with a plague outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says repellent with DEET can also help protect people from rodents while camping or working outdoors.
Flea control products can help prevent flea infestations in pets. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if a pet is sick, it should be taken to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Didn’t the plague come from the Middle Ages?
Black Death The 14th century saw perhaps the most notorious plague epidemic, killing up to half the population and spreading across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. It began to devastate communities in the Middle East and Europe between 1347 and 1351, with significant outbreaks continuing for approximately the next 400 years.
An earlier major plague pandemic, called the Plague of Justinian, began in Rome around 541 and continued to break out over the next several hundred years.
The third major plague pandemic began in China’s Yunnan region in the mid-1800s and spread along trade routes, reaching Hong Kong and Bombay some 40 years later. It eventually reached every continent except Antarctica and is estimated to have killed about 12 million people in China and India alone, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
In the late 1800s, an effective treatment using an antiserum was developed. Several decades later, this treatment was replaced by even more effective antibiotics.
Although plague remains a serious illness, antibiotics and supportive care are effective for even the most dangerous pneumonic form if patients receive timely treatment, according to World Health Organization.