Plague strikes person in Colorado

A person in Colorado has contracted the plague, Health officials have confirmed. 

In a statement published Tuesday (July 9), The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE) confirmed a "human case of plague in a Pueblo County resident."

The news comes four days after officials announced that there was a suspected case of the disease based on preliminary test results. The exact source of the infection is currently unknown.

Plague is an infection caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. This microbe naturally circulates among wild rodents and is transmitted through flea bites. Humans can catch the disease if they are bitten by an infected flea or if they handle the tissue or body fluids of an infected animal, which can include household Pets. 

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The most common type of plague is known as bubonic plague. In these cases, the lymphatic system, or drainage system that helps rid the body of waste and toxins, becomes infected with Y. pestis. This causes lymph nodes to become iNFLamed and swell into characteristic "buboes," which give bubonic plague its name. Other symptoms of bubonic plague include a fever, headache and chills, which usually develop within two to eight days after infection. In late stages of the disease, buboes can transform into open, pus-filled sores.  

In some cases, Y. pestis can infect the lungs and cause pneumonic plague, which is considered more severe than bubonic plague. Plague can sometimes start out bubonic and then spread to the lungs, sparking a pneumonic infection. Unlike bubonic plague, the pneumonic infection can be transmitted person-to-person through the air. For instance, a person can catch it if they inhale bacteria-containing droplets that have been expelled by an infected person's coughs or sneezes. However, such transmission has not been reported in the U.S. since 1924.