Colorado health officials have confirmed that a resident has contracted the bacterial infection that causes the plague. The Bubonic Plague is the deadly medieval disease that can cause patients to cough up blood.
It is not known how the individual became infected. However, the bacteria can be passed by touching wild rodents and the bites of infected fleas. It can also be spread from the droplets of a sick person.
Symptoms of the plague can resemble those of the flu, including sudden fever, chills, severe head and muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting.
It can also cause swollen lymph nodes called buboes, which can become inflamed and tender, and tissues like the hands and feet may turn black—hence the name ‘black death’.
In the medieval ages, thousands died. People can still die from it.
If untreated, it can spread to the lungs and other organs, as well as the blood, with potentially fatal consequences.
While the source of infection in Colorado is unknown, scientists have previously found samples of the bacteria living in squirrels in the state.
One woman caught it from her cat but was diagnosed early and survived. A young girl died in 2015 from it. There were 22 cases that year.
Usually, there are seven cases a year.
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