Rare Human Case Of Bubonic Plague : US
Officials in the US state of Oregon recently said they are dealing with a rare human case of bubonic plague that was likely transmitted by a pet cat.
- Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacterium usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
- Pestis can affect humans and animals and is spread mainly by fleas.
- Bubonic plague is one type of plague.
- It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease.
- Called the Black Death, it killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages.
- The other types of plague are:
- Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body.
- Pneumonic plague, which happens when the lungs are infected.
- Plague can be a very severe disease in people, with a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60% for the bubonic type, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left untreated.
- Symptoms: Bubonic plague symptoms includes sudden high fever and chills.
