Plague Cases in US Are Unusually High This Year

There’s been an unusually excessive variety of plague instances in america this yr, based on a brand new report from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC). The patients range from 14 to 79 years old.

At least for now, specialists can’t say why so many plague cases have occurred in the US this year. The Y. pestis bacterium is the pathogen that causes bubonic plague.

The CDC says there are normally five or six human cases of the plague reported each year.

So far this year, there have been four cases of plague in Colorado, two in Arizona, two in New Mexico and one each in California, Georgia and Oregon, the report said. In the cases out of Georgia and California, the residents had been linked to exposure at or near Yosemite National Park, located in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, according to the CDC report.

Some campgrounds in the national park, the US’s third-most visited, have been temporarily closed and fumigated after several dead squirrels were found to be carrying the plague.

Plague is brought on by micro organism referred to as, that are carried by rodents and their fleas.

All the same, specialists caution this disease can also be contracted when coming into contact with infected animals or contaminated tissues and bodily fluids.

Without treatment, plague causes death in about 60 to 90 percent of cases, the CDC said. Modern antibiotics, however, have helped lower the death rate to 16%.

Symptoms are flu-like and include muscle aches, fever and chills, swollen lymph nodes and a headache. In 2014, there have been 10 plague instances, and in 2013 and 2012, there have been 4 instances annually. But it’s easy to mistake a plague infection for a virus, and doctors usually have no medication to prescribe for a viral infection.

There are steps people can take to protect themselves in areas where the plague is found. The CDC recommends wearing long trousers and using insect repellent on clothing and skin.

People can get the plague if they are bitten by an infected flea, or if they come in close contact with an infected person or animal, including cats and dogs, health authorities said.