Fatal case of plague contracted by teen in Colorado

A Colorado teen has died after contracting a rare case of septicemic plague, likely from the fleas of a dead rodent or animal on his family’s rural property, according to a Larimer County Department of Health and Environment press release.

“We just need to be aware that plague is in Colorado – we do have positive animals every single year,” Jennifer House, MPH, state public health veterinarian for the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, said in a press conference. “We hope that we don’t see any more human cases this year, but I can’t tell you if we are going to or not.”

Occurring in rural and semi-rural areas of the southwestern United States, particularly New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, septicemic plague is most commonly spread through rodent populations, with rats, prairie dogs, squirrels and chipmunks known to be significant carriers.

Septicemic plague has been reported in individuals of all ages, with cases cited among infants and geriatric patients, although more than half of cases occur in patients aged 12–45 years.

“[Plague] is caused by bacteria so it is treatable with specific antibiotics, but treatment has to begin very early in the course of the symptoms and quite often the symptoms are so non-specific that it is very hard for individuals to know they have it, and it’s even hard for some health care providers to know that is what those symptoms are being caused by,” House said during a press conference.

According to the CDC, an average of 7 human plague cases are reported each year in the US, with cases typically concentrated in two regions: northern New Mexico, northern Arizona and southern Colorado; and parts of California, southern Oregon and western Nevada. However, only three cases have been reported in Colorado in the past 30 years.

Symptoms of plague include swollen lymph nodes, sudden fever, chills, severe headache, atypical exhaustion as well as a general feeling of illness. Septicemic plague is treatable when diagnosed promptly.

“What we recommend is that if an individual develops a high-fever, particularly at this time of the year, the first thing they should do is actually contact their primary care physician, and if that physician recommends they actually go to the hospital, then they should do that right away,” House said.

Reference: larimer.org/news