You have to love when a plan comes together or when a new
story ties perfectly into a previous blog and gives you the perfect jumping off
point! That’s the case for this week’s
blog. If you recall a few weeks ago I
wrote a blog about “Where
the next hotspot for zoonotic diseases would be” where according to a model
developed by researchers, Kansas and Nebraska were highly likely to be added to
the likes of China, Kazakhstan and parts of the Middle East as zoonotic
hotspots. It appears the model may have
been a little bit off and Colorado should have been included
among the upcoming hotspots.
Why you ask? Well
according to the Pueblo
City-County Health Department a second person in Colorado has died of
the plague this year. Plague, which
killed roughly a third of the population of Europe at the end of the Middle
Ages, causes fever, chills, and swollen and painful lymph nodes as it spreads
throughout the body. While normally treated by antibiotics, the disease
can become deadly if untreated. According
to health officials, the victim may have contracted the disease, caused by the
bacterium, Yersinia pestis,
after being bitten by fleas on a dead rodent or other animal.
The bacterium that causes the plague maintains its existence
in a cycle involving rodents (e.g. rock squirrels, wood rats, ground squirrels,
prairie dogs, chipmunks, mice, voles, and rabbits) and their fleas. But rodents
are not the only animal to be implicated with the plague. Cats are particularly susceptible to Y. pestis, and can be infected by eating
infected rodents. In fact there have
been several documented cases of human plague that have occurred in the United
States in recent decades as a result of contact with infected cats. While
there are generally a few cases each year in North America, the last outbreak
of the plague occurred in Los Angeles in 1924-1925 and was attributed to
rats and not cats.
There are actually three (3) types of plague:
- Bubonic Plague which is
the most common form of plague is usually contracted when an infected rodent or
flea bites you. However, in very rare cases, the bacteria can also be
transmitted from material that has come into contact with an infected person.
- Pneumonic Plague
which is the most serious form of the disease occurs when the bacteria multiply
in the lungs. When a person with pneumonic plague coughs, the bacteria from
their lungs are expelled into the air. Other people who breathe that air can
also develop this highly contagious form of plague, which can lead to an epidemic.
- Septicemic Plague
is caused when the bacteria multiply in the bloodstream. When untreated, both
bubonic and pneumonic plague can lead to septicemic plague.
As with
other zoonotic diseases, vigilance and prevention is a cornerstone as close
proximity between humans and animals will continue lead to disease
transmission. Speaking of which....I’d
best go find my cat. He’s outside
chasing mice and rabbits and likely picking up fleas......
Bugging Off!
Nicole
