A case of bubonic plague, the first confirmed case of this rare bacterial infection in Oregon since 2015. A person in Deschutes County was diagnosed, as CNN points out. According to the health workers, the infection was most likely caused by his cat. “All close contacts of both the person and their pet have been contacted and have been provided with medications to prevent the disease,” said Dr. Richard Fawcett, the Deschutes County Health Officer. The medications include used, as also recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are common antibiotics such as gentamicin and fluoroquinolones, indicated as first-line treatment for plague.
“Little risks” for the local community
The person found to be infected was “treated in the early stages of the disease”, according to the statement of the doctors who treated him, although he presents “little risk” to the local community. But the case, CNN articulates, raises questions about how the plague, best known for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages, can still spread today. “The reason it hasn’t been eliminated completely is because there is an animal reservoir. The bacteria can infect animals, and because we cannot treat all animals in the wild, they resist and may occasionally cause a small number of human cases,” explained Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Fish: causes and symptoms
According to the CDC, about seven cases of human plague are reported in the United States each year, mostly in rural areas of the Southwest and Northwest. The disease is caused by the bacterium “Yersinia pestis”. Humans usually contract it after being bitten by an insect (usually a flea) carrying the bacterium or after contact with an infected animal. Symptoms emerge about two to eight days after exposure and include painful and swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, chills and weakness. If the condition is not diagnosed early, it can progress to infections of the bloodstream or lungs. And severe forms of the disease are more difficult to treat. But overall, “plague is easily recognized, easily diagnosed and easily treated” with antibiotics, explained Dr. Harish Moorjani, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health.