- Colorado resident contracts plague
- Plague is treatable with antibiotics
- Precautions advised to prevent infection
Colorado health officials confirmed that a resident had contracted the plague-causing bacterial illness.
The fatal mediaeval disease can cause sufferers to spit up blood and their skin to blacken, earning it the terrifying term ‘black death’.
The individual’s infection source is unknown, although the bacteria can be transmitted by touching wild rodents or being bitten by infected fleas.
Last year, a Colorado native contracted the sickness from their pet cat. The United States verifies only seven cases of plague per year.
The plague can cause symptoms comparable to the flu, such as a rapid fever, chills, severe head and muscle pains, nausea, and vomiting.
It can also produce swollen lymph nodes known as buboes, which can become inflammatory and sensitive, as well as blackening of tissues such as hands and feet.
If left untreated, it can spread to the lungs, other organs, and blood, with potentially fatal results.
The so-called Black Death may have been a death sentence in the 14th century. Still, developments in contemporary science, particularly the introduction of antibiotics and improved overall sanitation have rendered it treatable.
A person infected with the plague, which spreads through coughing or sneezing, can now be treated with antibiotics, but only if they are started within a few days of symptoms such as fever appearing.
Infections usually start in wild rodents and infected fleas, which can settle on pets’ skin.
People become infected after coming into contact with infected animals or respiratory droplets from a sick person.
While the cause of the infection in Colorado is unknown, scientists have previously discovered traces of the bacteria in squirrels throughout the state.
The plague has become extremely infrequent in the United States since the 15th-century pandemic that wiped out significant swaths of the European population.
Most recently, in February, an Oregon resident contracted a fatal sickness from her cat; however, she was treated in the early stages of the disease, and no other cases were discovered in the region.
In 2021, a 10-year-old girl in Colorado died from the condition, marking the first fatality there since 2015. From 2005 to 2020, the state reported 22 cases of the plague.
According to Colorado Public Radio, four people died from the plague in 2015, two of them in Colorado: an adult in Pueblo County and a youngster in Larimer County.
Plague is more common in the summer months because bacteria proliferate quickly in warm temperatures and high humidity.
People also spend more time outside during the summer, making it easier for sick animals to spread the infection to humans.
According to Pueblo County health authorities, cleaning brush, rock heaps, rubbish and timber piles is critical for removing potential rodent habitats around residential and recreational areas.
This minimises the number of sites where rodents can hide and nest, lowering the danger of exposure to fleas that carry plague bacterium.
They also advise people to avoid direct contact with dead animals; if they must handle one, they should wear insect repellent containing DEET to protect themselves against fleas.
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Using a long-handled shovel, place the animal in a secure rubbish bag and dispose of it immediately in an outdoor trash bin.
To further prevent flea bites, use DEET-based insect repellent on exposed skin and clothing, focusing on pants, socks, shoe tops, arms and legs.
To minimise the risk of flea exposure, pets should not be permitted to sleep in beds. Regular flea treatment for pets is vital, and flea collars are ineffective.
It is also critical to keep pets away from rodent-prone regions, such as prairie dog colonies, and to store their food in safe, rodent-proof containers to avoid contamination and eventual exposure to plague bacteria.
These steps are critical to lowering the danger of plague spread and guaranteeing community safety.
