Bubonic Plague Found in Teenage Girl in Oregon
Oregon health officials have confirmed that a teenage girl in Crook County has contracted the bubonic plague during a recent hunting trip.
The Oregon Health Authority and the Crook County Public Health Department said the teen was infected with the disease by a flea when she was hunting earlier in Morrow County in early October.
According to a statement, she began showing symptoms of bubonic plague on Oct. 21, and was then hospitalized in Bend, Oregon, three days later. She is currently recovering in an intensive care unit at the hospital.
The symptoms, which usually occur two to six days after exposure, include sudden fever, abdominal pain, swollen lymph nodes, nausea and vomiting. The plague, however, is treatable with antibiotics upon early detection.
The plague is an infectious bacterial disease that is transmitted from infected rats, chipmunks or squirrels to other animals or humans through flea bites.
"Many people think of the plague as a disease of the past, but it's still very much present in our environment, particularly among wildlife," said Emilio DeBess, Oregon state public health veterinarian in the Public Health Division, according to Reuters.
"Fortunately, plague remains a rare disease, but people need to take appropriate precautions with wildlife and their pets to keep it that way," he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the plague was originally spread to the United States in 1900 by rat-infested steamships that had sailed from affected areas in the world like Asia. However, the disease has since died down in recent decades, with only 8 human cases diagnosed since 1995, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
In 2015, CDC has recorded 15 other human cases of the plague across the country. Only 11 of those patients have survived after being infected
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