Health Officials Are Investigating A Case Of The Bubonic Plague In The US

Health safety is a big factor when traveling, even if it doesn’t always come up in conversation. While people may assume that they are always safe when abroad, that may not always be the case. Going to unfamiliar places sometimes means encountering unfamiliar illnesses or health risks. This is something to be conscious of, especially since illnesses can have scary symptoms, have variants, and resurge. One example is the recently confirmed case of a sickness from the early Renaissance era in the United States, the bubonic plague.

The Case Of The Bubonic Plague

The recent case of the bubonic plague has, rightfully, struck fear into the hearts of locals. It is a pretty fresh development since the case was confirmed on Tuesday, July 9. While human cases of the plague are uncommon, they are not unheard of. In March and February, two cases of the plague were confirmed in New Mexico and Oregon, respectively. The CDC shared in May that an average of seven confirmed cases of the plague are reported each year in the United States.

The Pueblo County Department of Public Health announced the confirmed case. A resident of this county in Colorado was tested after the county agency suspected something was awry. The preliminary results were received and since then there has been an in-depth investigation on how the human case came to be. The way the bubonic plague is handled after the case is confirmed is of utmost importance to public health. Alerting the public is an important part of controlling the spread of such an infectious disease.

Symptoms Of The Plague

The plague brings on an array of different symptoms. Human cases of the bubonic plague which are caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium have both specific and common symptoms. Some of the common symptoms that people can have with the plague include swollen lymph nodes, a general feeling of illness or malaise, and pain, which technically is not quite specific. Other symptoms are a high fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, and a headache. One of the symptoms that people may associate with the plague is skin sores. Technically, these only show up in rare cases.

Is There A Cure?

Today, the bubonic plague can be treated with antibiotics. Of course, this is due to the modern advancements in medicine, since a case of the plague was once a death sentence. Although serious complications or death can be avoided, people should try to identify the case as early as possible. A person who is infected with the plague needs to be treated in the early stages. This is why officials in Colorado are advising residents to stay away from places where rodents live, make sure their pets do not play or hunt rodents, and for pet owners to sleep separately from their pets. People should also avoid contact with dead animals since they can carry the disease as well.