First US Case of 14th-Century Bubonic Plague That Killed 50 Million People Confirmed

United States health officials in Oregon have confirmed the first human cases of the thirteenth-century bubonic plague – that wiped out close to half of Europe – in nearly a decade.

Knewz.com has learned that specialists have since called on anyone exhibiting symptoms to seek medical assistance.

Alicia Solis, an employee at the Office of Communicable Disease and Emergency Preparedness within Colorado 's Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment, reported on a similar diagnosis and issued warnings in a press release.

She said : “We advise all individuals to protect themselves and their pets from [the] plague,” and further noted that “the plague can be treated successfully with antibiotics, but an infected person must be treated promptly to avoid serious complications or death.”

The notice explained that the plague, known as Yersinia pestis in scientific and medical circles, is carried by fleas, occurs naturally among wild rodents, and can spread to domesticated pets and by extension, their owners.

Humans contract the disease through flea bites, touching infected animals, and inhaling mucus and saliva microdroplets produced when coughing and sneezing.

Another paper following research by Dr David Bland at the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Maryland suggested that the responsible bacteria, Yersinia pestis , can also be transmitted through body lice—and a lot easier than initially thought.

Bland noted: “Y. pestis has been the culprit behind numerous pandemics , including the Black Death of the Middle Ages that killed millions of people in Europe.”

“It naturally cycles between rodents and fleas, and fleas sometimes infect humans through bites—thus, fleas and rats are thought to be the primary drivers of plague pandemics.”

“Body lice – which feed on human blood – can also carry Y. pestis, but are widely considered to be too inefficient at spreading it to contribute substantially to outbreaks.”

But not everybody subscribes to the latter:

Bland’s paper cites “studies that have addressed lice transmission efficiency have disagreed [with the latter] considerably.”

To avoid contracting the plague, Pueblo County Health advised eliminating places where rodents can hide and breed around the home and recreation areas by removing brush, rock piles, trash, and unused lumber.

The advisory noted that dead animals should be avoided and endorsed using insect repellent with at least 20%-30% DEET on skin and clothing to repel fleas.

It also recommended regularly treating dogs and cats for fleas while noting that flea collars have not been proven to repel the minuscule parasites—and even with these measures, it stated that pets should not be allowed to sleep in beds.

Rodent areas such as prairie dog colonies were also designated high transmission risk areas, making them unsuitable for family members of the four-legged (and two-legged) variants.

The Colorado health department further indicated that the symptoms of the bubonic plague were “sudden fever and chills, severe headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and a feeling of illness ,” along with “swollen lymph nodes and pain.”