A person in Colorado has been infected with the plague, CNN reported. Although the rare disease that wiped out millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages has mostly been eradicated in humans, there are still rare human cases, as this recent one showed.
What’s happening?
The plague, also known as the “Black Death,” is transmitted by flea bites and spread among wild rodents. Worldwide, there were 3,248 human plague cases reported between 2010 to 2015, per the World Health Organization. Most of them were in Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Madagascar.
As the name “Black Death” implies, the plague is an extremely serious disease. Though there are currently no commercially available plague vaccines, the disease can be treated if it is caught early enough.
“Plague can be treated successfully with antibiotics, but an infected person must be treated promptly to avoid serious complications or death,” Alicia Solis, program manager of the Office of Communicable Disease and Emergency Preparedness at the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment, said in a news release.
Why is the spread of flea-borne diseases important?
Vector-borne diseases — diseases that are spread by insect bites — have been on the rise lately as insect ranges expand due to the overheating of our planet. According to one scientific study, this trend does include the plague.
“A large increase in the number of fleas found on a prairie dog colony, coupled with a greater number of infested burrows, could have substantial effects on plague dynamics in the western United States as the climate warms,” the study predicted.
Other such vector-borne diseases that have seen recent spikes include dengue fever, spread by mosquitoes, West Nile virus, also spread by mosquitoes, Lyme disease, spread by ticks, and more.
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What’s being done about the plague?
Officials advised people to eliminate areas around their homes where wild rodents might seek shelter, such as brush, rock piles, trash, and piles of lumber around homes, garages, sheds, and recreation areas. They also recommended treating your dogs and cats for fleas, keeping pet food in rodent-proof containers, and not letting pets sleep in bed with you.
Scientists are also working on more advanced ways to track the populations of the insects that spread these diseases in order to be better prepared to fight them, including using AI to track malaria-spreading mosquitoes in Africa.
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