
A Colorado resident has been diagnosed with the plague, sparking warnings from scientists who are calling for improved monitoring. The patient’s identity has not been revealed, nor has the type of disease. There are three kinds: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. The plague spreads primarily through insect bites but can also be airborne.
Alicia Solis, program manager of the Office of Communicable Disease and Emergency Preparedness at the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment, said the plague is treatable with antibiotics but can be fatal if untreated. Ms. Solis advised individuals to protect themselves and their pets by avoiding sick or dead animals, preventing their pets from roaming, and seeing a doctor or vet if any symptoms appear. Outside areas should also be kept clean, and hunters should only handle or skin dead animals with protection and precaution.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that the most common symptoms are swollen and painful lymph nodes, fever, vomiting, weakness, and headaches.
The plague is usually associated with the Black Death, a period in the Middle Ages when the disease ravaged Europe, wiping out almost half of the continent’s population. The Black Death started in 1347 and lasted for around six years. It was brought to Europe by rats arriving on cargo ships delivering goods from around the world and is thought to have originated in China.
Earlier this year, health officials in two US states reported the plague. A man died from bubonic plague in New Mexico in March, and a report from Oregon suggested a patient there had contracted the disease from their cat.
The CDC urges Americans, particularly in Western states, to seek medical advice should any primary symptoms appear. It notes, however, that person-to-person transmission is rare and has not occurred in the United States since 1924. It also states that cats are the most susceptible animal carriers because of their tendency to come into contact with rodents.