Caterina Trimarchi / stock.adobe.com
In the United States, a rare human case of bubonic plague was recently identified in Oregon, according to local health officials. The disease, which caused the Black Death, an epidemic that killed at least a third of Europe’s population in the Middle Ages, is rare in developed countries and is now treatable, but remains potentially dangerous.
The patient lives in Deschutes County in the northwestern United States. He is currently under treatment and was probably infected by his cat. “All close contacts of the residence and their pets have been contacted and given medication to prevent illness”Deschutes County Health Officer Dr. Richard Fawcett said when the case was announced last week.
Seven cases per year in the United States
According to authorities, plague symptoms in humans can appear up to eight days after exposure to an infected animal or flea. Symptoms may include fever, nausea, weakness, chills, and muscle aches. If not diagnosed in time, bubonic plague can progress to septicemic plague – a bloodstream infection – or pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs. These two diseases are more serious.
“Fortunately, this case was identified and treated at an early stage of the disease, posing little risk to the community”assured the authorities in a press release. “No other cases of plague have come to light during investigation”, they clarified. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main federal health agency, there are an average of seven cases of plague in humans each year in the United States. In Oregon, the last reported case of bubonic plague was in 2015, according to the state health administration of more than 4.2 million residents.
