A person in Arizona died of pneumonia, local health officials said On Friday.
Pneumonia, which occurs when the bacterium yersinia pestis enters the lungs of a person, is “the least usual and the most dangerous type of plague” Cleveland Clinic.
All three most important types of the plague are rare in modern times. One type, bubonic plague, was the main cause of the fourteenth century Black Death Pandemicwho left a trail of death and destruction across Europe. Now around 1,000 to 2,000 people around the world are diagnosed with plague annually, according to the Clinic Cleveland. Only seven cases are reported in the US every year.
It is unclear when the person in Arizona died, but the health department of Coconino County said in a press release that received test results on Friday that confirmed that the patient had pneumonic plague.
This is what about pneumonic plague.
Where do most cases of plague happen and who runs the most risk of infection?
In recent years, plague has usually been found in Africa, according to the World Health Organisation. In some countries it remains endemic, mainly the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Peru.
“In the US you will rather get a plague in the western states countryside,” said Cleveland’s clinic. “You are a higher risk if you work with animals in an area where plague is found.”
How does the pneumonic plague spread?
Pneumonic plague is the only type of plague that can be transferred from person to person, according to the American centers for disease control and prevention (CDC). Person-person transmission can be done by coughing and sneezing, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But a person can also get the disease after close contact with an infected animal, or bacteria that go from another part of the body to the lungs.
In general, plague usually spreads by bites of fleas that an animal had bitten that was infected with the bacteria.
According to the CDCAmerican officials have not spread a person to person from plague in the country since 1924, but “there are rare cases of pneumonic plague in people who are exposed to sick cats.” Cats, the CDC, said on her website, “are particularly sensitive to plague and can be infected by eating infected rodents.”
How can I protect myself against it?
Cleveland’s clinic advises people to minimize their risk of plague by avoiding flea bites and practicing caution around animals that can be infected with the bacteria. The clinic recommends taking actions, including wearing bugspray with DEET, wearing gloves when dealing with animals that can be infected, and do not allow pets to wander outside when they are in an area known to have plague.
A bullying vaccine is currently not available in the US, according to the CDC. While scientists are working on developing such vaccines in the US, the CDC said, it is not expected that it is not expected to be commercially available in the near future. “
Worldwide the World Health Organisation Advises vaccination of plague only for risk groups, including health workers and people who work in laboratories that are constantly in danger.
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