Page 4
February 21, 2024
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2024
Oregon Resident Diagnosed with the Plague
A Few Things
to Know About
the Illness
Officials in central Oregon this week
reported a case of bubonic plague in a
resident who likely got the disease from
a sick pet cat.
The infected resident and the resident’s
close contacts have all been provided
medication, public health officials say, and
people in the community are not believed
to be at risk. The cat was also treated but
did not survive.
Plague isn’t common, but it also
isn’t unheard of in the western United
States, where a handful of cases occur
every year. It’s different from Alaska-
pox, a rare, recently discovered disease
that killed a man in Alaska last month.
Plague is an infectious disease that can
affect mammals. It’s caused by the bac-
terium Yersinia pestis, which is carried
by rodents and fleas. Sunlight and drying
can kill plague bacteria on surfaces, ac-
cording to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Humans and
pets suspected to be sick with plague are
typically treated with antibiotics, and
sometimes with other medical measures.
Plague symptoms can manifest in a
few ways. Bubonic plague — the kind
contracted by the Oregon resident —
A bubonic plague warning sign is displayed at a parking lot near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, Saturday, Aug.
10, 2019, in Commerce City, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
happens when the plague bacteria gets
into the lymph nodes. It can cause fever,
headache, weakness and painful, swol-
len lymph nodes. It usually happens
from the bite of an infected flea, accord-
ing to the CDC.
Septicemic plague symptoms happen
if the bacteria gets into the bloodstream.
It can occur initially or after bubon-
ic plague goes untreated. This form of
plague causes the same fever, chills and
weakness, as well as abdominal pain,
shock and sometimes other symptoms
like bleeding into the skin and blackened
fingers, toes or the nose. The CDC says
this form comes from flea bites or from
handling an infected animal.
Pneumonic plague is the most serious
form of the disease, and it occurs when the
bacteria gets into the lungs. Pneumonic
plague adds rapidly developing pneumo-
nia to the list of plague symptoms. It is
the only form of plague that can be spread
from person to person by inhaling infec-
tious droplets.
All forms of plague are treatable
with common antibiotics, and people
who seek treatment early have a better
chance of a full recovery, according to
the CDC.
Questions about your health care?
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