Is the bubonic plague BACK? First US fatality in years sparks fears the Black Death could make a resurgence
A MAN in the US has died from the plague for the first time in years, sparking concern the Black Death could make a resurgence.
The unnamed patient from New Mexico was hospitalised from the disease before dying, local health officials said in a statement last week.
“This tragic incident serves as a clear reminder of the threat posed by this ancient disease,” Dr Erin Phipps, New Mexico’s public state public health veterinarian, said.
“It also emphasises the need for heightened community awareness and proactive measures to prevent its spread.”
He is the first person in the US to die from the plague – a disease that killed tens of millions of people in medieval Europe – since 2020.
It’s unclear how the man contracted the disease, though it’s usually spread through bites from fleas and infected animals.
Just last month, one unlucky cat owner in the US picked up the bug after her cat tested positive for the infection.
The patient has since been treated with antibiotics and was said to be responding well.
Although the idea of the plague sounds dire, another “black death” is not coming, experts reassured.
Despite its lethal reputation, the disease is not uncommon in the US.
It’s also very easily cured with modern medicine – but left untreated, most of those infected will die within a week.
“It is quite normal for outbreaks of infectious diseases [such as the plague] to emerge after apparently disappearing for a while,” Professor Jimmy Whitworth, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told the Sun.
We could see more cases in the future
Professor Paul Hunter
“Unless a disease has been completely eradicated, as with smallpox, there is always a risk it might re-emerge.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates there are between 1,000 and 2,000 cases of plague worldwide yearly, with most coming from warmer climates like Africa, Asia, and South America, where fleas can thrive.
“Humans only become infected by accident when they come into contact with infected fleas from a diseased or dead rodent,” the expert explains.
“So in those parts of the world where plague exists, the disease normally occurs in the wild and is not obvious to humans.
“In the southwest of the USA, there are occasional human cases of plague in most years.”
He said the recent case of the plague in the northern state of Oregon was “unusual” and may suggest a “northward spread of plague’s range, perhaps related to climate change.”
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in medicine from the University of East Anglia (UEA), agreed that the plague has “always been with us” and nowadays “rarely causes big outbreaks”.
“But when it does, it is usually because the infection spread from animals living with humans.”
This appears to be true for many recent cases in the US, for which the majority have been reported in people who get too close to prairie dogs.
“We could see more cases in the future if we live closer to animals and if climate change continues to get worse,” the Prof warned.
The three types of plague: signs and symptoms
In bubonic plague, the most common type. It spreads to immune glands called lymph nodes, causing them to become swollen and painful, which may progress into open sores.
Symptoms usually develop within two to eight days and include fever, headache, chills, and weakness.
There are three main forms of plague infection all caused by the same bacteria – Yesinia pestis. All types have different symptoms.
Pneumonic plague, for example, occurs when the disease spreads to the lungs.
Symptoms occur in one to three days and involve rapidly developing pneumonia, usually characterized by shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and bloody or watery mucous.
Over time, this can lead to respiratory failure.
And septicemic plague is when infection spreads to the blood.
Patients typically develop fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock and bleeding into the skin and other organs. Septicemic plague is almost always fatal.
Source: World Health Organization