Deaths From Medieval Disease Reported In US State

An Arizona resident had succumbed to the Black Death, marking the county’s first plague death since 2007. 

Health authorities in Coconino County verified that the patient’s cause of death was pneumonic plague, which is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Still, they did not disclose the person’s name or gender.

Despite efforts to save his life, the patient passed away in the emergency room at Flagstaff Medical Centre the same day he arrived.

An average of seven human plague cases are reported each year in the US, but those cases aren’t always fatal, according to data from the CDC from 2000 to 2023.

To look into the event, the hospital is working with the Arizona Department of Health Services and Coconino County Health and Human Services.

Earlier this week, Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) warned of a prairie dog die-off near Townsend Winona, just northeast of Flagstaff — a possible warning sign of plague activity. However, officials confirmed the recent human fatality is unrelated to this animal outbreak. 

The absence of a link to prairie dogs points to the possibility of an additional exposure source nearby.

The most deadly type of the Black Death, pneumonic plague, is mainly contracted by breathing in saliva droplets released by an infected person or animal when they cough or sneeze.

Infection can also occur from handling infected cats, rodents, or their fleas. It leads to a severe lung infection, rapid breathing, and high fever. 

Antibiotics are now effective in treating the disease, but officials say without prompt treatment the pneumonic plague is fatal about half the time. 

‘Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the deceased,’ said Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Patrice Horstman. 

‘We are keeping them in our thoughts during this difficult time. Out of respect for the family, no additional information about the death will be released.’ 

Plague symptoms strike within one to 8 days, with fever, chills, and brutal fatigue. 

It’s frequently accompanied by agonizing swollen lymph nodes (buboes) in the groin or armpits. Left untreated, it can destroy the blood or lungs.

The plague invokes images of medieval Europe’s darkest age when the Black Death wiped out millions in a gruesome pandemic that reshaped the continent.

Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado account for the majority of infections, according to the CDC. 

In 2017, New Mexico recorded three cases of the plague in people aged 52, 62, and 63. 

Of the three cases, two were bubonic, and one was pneumonic. There are three kinds of human plague, with the third being septicemic, all of which have different manifestations. 

A New Mexico man has become the first US plague fatality since 2020 last year.

After getting Yersinia pestis, the unnamed patient from Lincoln County, which is close to Albuquerque, passed away.

Plague cases in the U.S. are infrequent (fewer than 10 yearly) and mainly occur in the Four Corners region (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah), where rodents and fleas thrive.

Although deaths have significantly decreased due to modern medications and improved hygiene, the disease is still widespread in wildlife. In high-risk zones, health professionals advise exercising caution.

Northern Arizona Healthcare said in a statement: ‘NAH would like to remind anyone who suspects they are ill with a contagious disease to contact their health care provider.

‘If their illness is severe, they should go to the Emergency Department and immediately ask for a mask to help prevent the spread of disease while they access timely and important care.’ 

Antibiotics are an easy way to treat it. The main danger is that exposure is so uncommon that people sometimes aren’t aware of it until they get really sick.

The bacterium Yersinia pestis is the cause of three different forms of plague, including bubonic plague.

One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms materialise. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well as swollen and painful lymph nodes appearing in the location nearest to where the bacteria penetrated the skin. Acral necrosis, marked by dark contusion of the skin, is another manifestation. Sometimes, swollen lymph nodes, known as ‘buboes’, may break open.

Pneumonic, septicaemic, and bubonic plague are the three forms of plague that arise from the route of infection.

Infected fleas from small animals are the primary vectors of bubonic plague transmission.

It may also result from exposure to the body fluids of a deceased plague-infected animal. Mammals such as rabbits, hares and some cat species are susceptible to bubonic plague. The bacteria penetrates through the skin via a flea bite and travels through the lymphatic vessels to a lymph node, causing it to swell. Diagnosis is made by finding the bacteria in the blood, sputum, or fluid from lymph nodes.

Prevention is through public health measures such as not handling dead animals in places where plague is common. While vaccines against the plague have been developed, the World Health Organisation advise that only high-risk groups, such as certain laboratory personnel and health care groups, get inoculated.

Several antibiotics are effective for treatment, such as streptomycin, gentamicin and doxycycline.

Without treatment, plague results in the death of 30 per cent to 90 per cent of those contaminated.

Death, if it happens, is normally within 10 days. With treatment, the risk of death is about 10 per cent.

Globally between 2010 and 2015, there were 3,248 documented cases, which resulted in 584 deaths. The countries with the most significant number of cases are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Peru.