- CBS News - 5 hours agoA rare case of pneumonic plague has been diagnosed in a patient who is hospitalized in Colorado. Health officials say it is the first confirmed ...
- Bloomberg - 13 hours ago
New case of pneumonic plague in Colorado - 9News
www.9news.com/story/...case-of...plague...colorado/12439709/2 days ago - The latest case happened in Adams County, where a patient contracted plague. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment said it is ...
KUSAPlague - Colorado.gov
Plague, a disease of rodents transmitted by fleas, is widespread in the western ... among wild rodents in North America and individual cases continue to occur ...Colorado man diagnosed with rare pneumonic plague | Fox ...
www.foxnews.com/.../colorado-man-diagnosed-with-r...2 days ago - A Colorado man diagnosed with pneumonic plague, a rare form of the ... is the state's first confirmed human case of the illness in a decade, ...
Fox News ChannelDeadliest, Rarest Form of Plague Contracted Near Denver ...
www.bloomberg.com/.../deadliest-rarest-form-of-plague-...14 hours ago - A Colorado man is infected with the rarest and most fatal form of ... Colorado has had 60 cases of all types of plague since 1957, and nine ...
Bloomberg L.P.Deadliest, Rarest Form of Plague Contracted Near Denver
Save
Scanning electron micrograph depicting a mass of Yersinia pestis bacteria. Photograph:... Read More
A Colorado man is infected with the rarest and most fatal form of plague, an airborne version that can be spread through coughing and sneezing.
It is the first case of pneumonic plague seen in the state since 2004, said Jennifer House, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The man, who hasn’t been identified, may have been exposed in Adams County near Denver, health officials said in a statement. While House said the man has been hospitalized and treated, she wouldn’t release other details about his situation.
“He’s on treatment long enough to not be transmissible,” House said in a telephone interview. He may have contracted the illness from his dog, she said, which died suddenly and has also been found to carry the disease.
Related:- Ebola Outbreak, Worst Ever, Needs Drastic Steps, WHO Says
- Dengue Vaccine Shows Promise Against 3 Out of 4 Viruses
- Ebola Treatments Face Testing Hurdles as Hundreds Die
Plague in all of its forms infects only about seven people yearly in the U.S. The disease occurs when a bacterium named Yersinia pestis infects the body, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The difference between the pneumonic and bubonic varieties is that the bacteria take hold in the lungs in the first case, rather than underneath the skin through insect bites. Both types are treated with antibiotics.
The state is working “to investigate the source of exposure and to identify those who may have been exposed through close contact with the individual,” the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in its statement. “Any individuals exposed will be recommended for antibiotic treatment.”
60 Cases
Colorado has had 60 cases of all types of plague since 1957, and nine people have died, the state said.
“The reaction is leaning toward people who are tired of the protection of prairie dogs on some level,” said Jim Siedlecki, director of public information of Adams County. “Most people look at them as cute little dogs on the side of the road, but in rural Adams County they are looked at as a rodent who damages crops and is potentially plague-ridden.”
Adams County, home to 470,000 residents, with 425,000 living in the Denver metro area, is one of Colorado’s fastest-growing counties and among the 20 fastest-growing counties in the nation.
Untreated plague is fatal, and antibiotics have to be given within 24 hours of the first symptoms to reduce the chance of death. Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache and chest pain, along with a pneumonia that develops rapidly causing shortness of breath, chest pain and bloody mucus, according to the CDC.
No Vaccine
There is no vaccine available for plague in the U.S. The bubonic form is the most common, best known for its outbreaks in the Middle Ages.
Colorado officials recommend that residents keep pets away from wildlife, especially dead rodents. The plague can spread from animals after a large die-off of prairie dogs, when fleas with the bacteria seek new hosts, according to the state.
“The message we’re trying to get out is that the plague bacteria is present here in Colorado, and to take necessary precautions to avoid getting infected,” House said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Sonali Basak in New York at sbasak7@bloomberg.net; Jennifer Oldham in Denver at joldham1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net Drew Armstrong
end quote from:
Deadliest, Rarest Form of Plague Contracted Near Denver ...
It gives one the unsettling feeling that the labs being closed down by the CDC might have had vials of Pneumonic Plague in them too because of what is happening in Colorado right now.
Of course there likely would be no way to prove weaponized Pneumonic plague if this thing spreads. But, only if you realize you are getting pneumonia and go on antibiotics the first 24 hours are you sure to survive this thing as it is pretty bad and fairly fatal.
This is especially distressing because it is vacation time all around the world. So, from a well visited place like Colorado which is in the center of the country (lower 48 states) this plague could travel by car to anywhere in North, South or Central America and also by plane to anywhere on earth. And the same is true of Ebola in Africa.
So, in some ways both Ebola and Plague are hitting at the very worst time of year if we want to prevent a pandemic of either of them.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Deadliest, Rarest Form of Plague Contracted Near Denver
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment