A case of the medieval plague with symptoms of coughing up blood and pus-filled boils detected in the US
A NEW case of the dreaded bubonic plague has been detected in the US.
The horrifying disease which can leave sufferers coughing up blood was responsible for the Black Death in medieval Europe and killed millions of people.
Local officials said it’s unclear how the unnamed person in Colorado contracted the disease, though it’s usually spread through bites from fleas and infected animals.
Scientists have previously found samples of the bacteria living in squirrels in the state.
The plague has become very rare in the US and Europe since the 15th-century outbreak, largely thanks to lifestyle changes that prevent it from spreading to humans from infected fleas as easily.
But cases continue to crop up in rural areas of the US, including northern Arizona, southern Colorado and southern Oregon.
In February this year, one unlucky cat owner in Oregon picked up the bug after her cat tested positive for the infection.
The patient has since been treated with antibiotics and was said to be responding well.
At the time, health officials said there was “little risk” to other people in the community.
The following month, health officials in Lincoln County, New Mexico, announced a man had died of the disease.
So, should we be worried?
“Plague has always been with us, and nowadays, it rarely causes big outbreaks,” Prof Paul Hunter, professor in medicine, University of East Anglia (UEA), previously told the Sun.
“But when it does, it is usually because the infection spread from animals living with humans.”
This appears to be true for many recent cases in the US, for which the majority have been reported in people who get too close to prairie dogs.
“We could see more cases in the future if we live closer to animals and if climate change continues to get worse,” the Prof warned.
Pueblo County health officials say it’s crucial to eliminate potential rodent habitats around residential areas and recreational spots by clearing out rubbish.
Additionally, they recommend individuals avoid direct contact with dead animals; if handling is necessary, they should wear insect repellent with DEET to protect against flea bites.
NHS Fit to Travel advises travellers visiting Colorado to practice use insect repellents when near nature, avoid any close contact with sick or dead animals and crowded areas in regions where plague has recently been reported.
Worldwide, most human cases of plague in recent decades have occurred in people living in rural towns and villages in Africa – where people live in closer proximity to the disease-carrying animals.
Symptoms of the plague can look similar to those of flu, including sudden fever, chills, severe head and muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting.
History of the Black Death
The Black Death was an epidemic of bubonic plague which struck Europe and Asia in the 1300s.
It killed more than 20 million people in Europe.
Scientists now know that the plague was spread by a bacillus known as yersina pestis.
The bacteria can travel through the air as well as through the bites of infected fleas and rats.
Bubonic plague can cause swelling of the lymph notes. If untreated it could spread to the blood and lungs.
Other symptoms included fever, vomiting and chills.
Physicians relied on treatments such as boil-lancing to bathing in vinegar as they tried to treat people with the plague.
Some believed that the Black Death was a “divine punishment” – a form of retribution for sins against God.
It can also cause swollen lymph nodes called buboes, which can become inflamed, and tender, and tissues like the hands and feet may turn black.
If untreated, it can spread to the lungs and other organs, as well as the blood, with potentially fatal consequences.
The disease is easily treatable with modern medicine – but left untreated, most infected will die within a week.
The three types of plague: signs and symptoms
In bubonic plague, the most common type. It spreads to immune glands called lymph nodes, causing them to become swollen and painful, which may progress into open sores.
Symptoms usually develop within two to eight days and include fever, headache, chills, and weakness.
There are three main forms of plague infection all caused by the same bacteria – Yesinia pestis. All types have different symptoms.
Pneumonic plague, for example, occurs when the disease spreads to the lungs.
Symptoms occur in one to three days and involve rapidly developing pneumonia, usually characterized by shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and bloody or watery mucous.
Over time, this can lead to respiratory failure.
And septicemic plague is when infection spreads to the blood.
Patients typically develop fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock and bleeding into the skin and other organs. Septicemic plague is almost always fatal.
Source: World Health Organization