Oregon’s first plague in eight years may have come from a pet cat

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FOA News – Health officials in Oregon recently reported the state’s first human case of plague in over eight years.

Pets might carry fleas into the home, which then bite humans.Soumyabrata Roy / NurPhoto via Getty Images file

The affected individual resides in Deschutes County, a rural area in Oregon. The likely source of infection? Their pet cat, which had developed symptoms indicative of the disease.

Plague Transmission:

Humans are most commonly exposed to plague through flea bites. Fleas can carry the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes the disease.

Household pets, including cats, can become infected if they hunt rodents that carry plague or if they are bitten by infected fleas.
Pets can then transfer the infection to humans through tissue or bodily fluids, such as respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes.

Alternatively, pets might carry home fleas that subsequently bite humans.

Cat Susceptibility:

Cats are particularly susceptible to plague due to their behavior – chasing and capturing rodents.
Their bodies may struggle to clear the infection effectively.

Case Details:

The cat involved in this recent case was described as “very sick” and had a draining abscess, indicating a substantial infection.
The owner’s infection likely began in a lymph node, known as bubonic plague.

By the time the owner was hospitalized, the infection had progressed to the bloodstream.

Antibiotic treatment was effective, but doctors monitored the patient closely.
Close contacts of the patient also received antibiotics as a precaution.

Rare Occurrence:

Plague cases are relatively rare in the United States, with an average of around seven cases per year, mostly occurring in the rural West.

Prior to this recent case, Oregon’s last human plague case was in 2015, when a teenage girl was presumably infected from a flea bite during a hunting trip.

Remember, while the mention of plague may evoke historical associations, modern medical care and prompt treatment significantly reduce the severity and spread of the disease. Vigilance and awareness remain crucial in managing such cases.

Source (nbcnews, allsides)