{"id":477,"date":"2024-02-15T11:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T11:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/15\/rare-case-of-human-plague-identified-in-oregon-likely-spread-by-pet-cat-health-officials-say\/"},"modified":"2024-02-15T11:54:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T11:54:00","slug":"rare-case-of-human-plague-identified-in-oregon-likely-spread-by-pet-cat-health-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/15\/rare-case-of-human-plague-identified-in-oregon-likely-spread-by-pet-cat-health-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare case of human plague identified in Oregon, likely spread by pet cat, health officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A person in Deschutes County, Oregon, has been diagnosed with a case of <\/strong>bubonic <\/strong>plague, making them the state\u2019s first confirmed case of this rare bacterial infection since 2015. <\/p>\n

The person was probably infected by their cat, and \u201call close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and provided medication to prevent illness,\u201d Dr. Richard Fawcett, the Deschutes County health officer, said in a statement last week. Common antibiotics like gentamicin and fluoroquinolones are first-line treatment for plague, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <\/p>\n

The infected person was \u201ctreated in the earlier stages of the disease,\u201d according to the statement, and poses \u201clittle risk\u201d to the community. <\/p>\n

But the case is raising questions about how plague \u2014 best known for killing millions of people in Europe <\/strong>during the Middle Ages \u2014 can spread in the modern day. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason why it hasn\u2019t been eliminated is because there\u2019s an animal reservoir. The bacteria can infect animals, and because we can\u2019t treat all animals\u00a0in the wild, it persists in nature and thus occasionally\u00a0causes a limited number of human cases,\u201d said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,\u00a0who is not involved in the Oregon case. <\/p>\n

About seven human plague cases are reported each year in the United States, primarily in rural Southwest and Northwest areas, according to the CDC. <\/p>\n

Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Humans usually get it after being bitten by a flea that is carrying the bacterium or after encountering an infected animal. Symptoms typically emerge in humans about two to eight days after exposure, and they include painful, swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, chills and weakness. <\/p>\n

If the condition is not diagnosed early, it can progress to infections of the bloodstream or lungs, according to the statement from Deschutes County Health Services. Those severe forms of the disease are more difficult to treat. <\/p>\n

But overall, \u201cthe plague is easily recognized, easily diagnosed and easily treated\u201d with antibiotics nowadays, said Dr. Harish Moorjani, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health, who is not involved in the Oregon case. <\/p>\n

Compared with the Middle Ages, \u201cpeople should put everything into perspective; this is a different era,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Barouch thinks it is \u201cvery unlikely\u201d that the plague will spread beyond the person in Oregon. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as the person and their immediate contacts are treated \u2014 which did occur in this case \u2014 the chance it will spread any further is very, very low. So I think that people should not be worried, but if people want to reduce their risks, then they should avoid contact with rodents and fleas and sick animals,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out cats can be infected quite easily because cats have a difficult time controlling the bacteria themselves,\u201d Barouch said. \u201cDogs can be infected too, but cats can be infected even more easily. Squirrels, chipmunks, rodents are typically the animals that are infected in the wild.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the Middle Ages, plague caused a pandemic called the Black Death and was thought to spread by fleas carried by rats. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason why it caused such widespread death and destruction in the Middle Ages is because we didn\u2019t have antibiotics at that time,\u201d Barouch said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it can be a serious illness, it\u2019s usually easily treatable with antibiotics as long as it\u2019s caught early. So now it\u2019s a very treatable disease. It shouldn\u2019t create the fear that people had in the Middle Ages of the Black Death,\u201d he said. \u201cIf anyone develops symptoms consistent with the plague \u2014 usually the initial symptoms are fever, chills and swollen lymph node \u2014 then seek medical attention, because at the early stages, the plague is easily treatable with antibiotics.\u201d <\/p>\n

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    <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    There is a Yersinia pestis vaccine, but Moorjani said it is recommended only for high-risk people like scientists who work directly with the bacterium. <\/p>\n

    \u201cMost people don\u2019t need the vaccine,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

    People can take basic precautions to keep themselves and their pets healthy, Moorjani said, by maintaining good hygiene in and around the home to prevent contact with fleas and rodents. They should also leash their pets outdoors and use good flea control, he added. <\/p>\n

    When taking part in outdoor activities, people should take precautions against flea bites and avoid handling animal carcasses, according to the World Health Organization. <\/p>\n

    \u201cGood general hygiene and some rational protection at the individual level can easily prevent\u201d plague infections, Moorjani said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

    This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A person in Deschutes County, Oregon, has been diagnosed with a case of bubonic plague, making them the state\u2019s first confirmed case of this rare bacterial infection since 2015. The person was probably infected by their cat, and \u201call close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and provided medication to prevent …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"loftocean_post_primary_category":0,"loftocean_post_format_gallery":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_ids":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_urls":"","loftocean_post_format_video_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_video_url":"","loftocean_post_format_video_type":"","loftocean_post_format_video":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_type":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_url":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_audio":"","loftocean-featured-post":"","loftocean-like-count":0,"loftocean-view-count":636,"tinysalt_single_post_intro_label":"","tinysalt_single_post_intro_description":"","tinysalt_hide_post_featured_image":"","tinysalt_post_featured_media_position":"","tinysalt_single_site_header_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header_style":"sticky-scroll-up","tinysalt_single_site_footer_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_footer":"0","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}