A teen girl from eastern Oregon has contracted the bubonic plague, health officials said.
The Crook County girl is believed to have acquired the disease from a flea bite during a hunting trip near Heppner in Morrow County, officials said. The trip started on Oct. 16, she fell ill five days later and was hospitalized three days afterward. According to a press release, the young woman began feeling sick on October 21 and was hospitalized in Bend, Oregon on October 24.
Plague is rare in Oregon, with only eight human cases diagnosed since 1995 and no deaths, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
The plague usually occurs in rural and semi-rural areas of the western United States, most commonly in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.
The girl is recovering at a hospital intensive care unit. Her condition isn’t known.
State and federal epidemiologists are working with local health officials to investigate the illness. No other people are believed to have been infected, officials said.
Bubonic plague was prevalent in medieval times, but it is rare today. In recent decades an average of 7 human plague cases has been reported nationwide each year in the U.S., according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Eight human cases have been diagnosed in Oregon since 1995. No deaths have been reported.
In 2012, an Oregon man lost his fingers and toes to the plague. He had contracted the disease from his cat after trying to remove a mouse from the cat’s throat.
The infectious bacterial disease is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other animals or humans through bites.
The plague is treatable with antibiotics if caught early, but can be fatal if left untreated. Bubonic plague is the most common form and is characterized by high fever, lethargy and swollen lymph nodes.
A plague vaccine is not available at this time.
Officials recommend people avoid any contact with wild rodents, especially sick or dead ones, and should never feed squirrels or chipmunks. People should also keep their pets away from wild rodents to avoid infection.
There have been 15 other human cases of the plague in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Four of those patients have died.
The CDC is working with Oregon health officials as well as local health officials in Crook, Deschutes and Marrow counties, to investigate this illness.
Source: CNN, 6abc