Man Tested Positive for Plague, First Human Case in California in 5 Years

A resident of South Lake Tahoe has recently been diagnosed with the plague, which, according to a CNN report, marked the "first human case in California since 2015."

An Eldorado County Health and Human Service Agency press release states, health officials said they believe this individual may have had an inflected flea bite while walking their pet dog in the area. 

This infected California resident is reportedly recovering at home while receiving care from a medical professional. 

According to experts, plague symptoms frequently show up within 14 days of exposure, and these may include fever, vomiting, feeling weak, and swelling of lymph nodes. 

Typically, the release indicated, plague can be treated with antibiotics and can be efficient if the infection is detected earlier before it worsens.

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Plague Case Still Under Investigation

Officials of the El Dorado County Health said they are still investigating the conditions of the case after the California Department informed them of Public health about the positive test result.

In a release, Dr. Nancy Williams, the El Dorado County Public Health Officer, said, plague cases in humans may be extremely rare, but they "can be very serious."

It is important, Williams continued, that people take precautionary measures for themselves, as well as their pets when they are outdoors, specifically when going out for a walk, camping, or hiking in places where there is the presence of wild rodents.

As earlier mentioned, the last plague case confirmed in California was in 2015, after two individuals who were at the Yosemite National Park got exposed to infected rats of their fleas there. 

Both patients, according to reports, were given treatments and able to recover from the condition. Prior to that, there had not been any recorded occurrence of plague in humans in California since 2006.

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Earlier Occurrences of Cases in Humans

In recent years, seven human plague cases on the average, have been reported in the United States every year, ranging from one to 17 occurrences each year, according to a report from the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention.

Earlier this month, a man in his 20s from New Mexico reportedly died because of "septicemic plague." According to news reports, he was the second confirmed case recorded and reported in the state this year.

Last month, the Colorado public health officials announced that a "squirrel had tested positive for bubonic plague," the first case in the state in 2020.

The CDC said, there is an average of only seven plague cases in humans each year. Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization, the death rate is approximated to be from eight to 10 percent.

The WHO also said direct transmission through human-to-human contact does not occur except in the incidence of what the medical experts call the "pneumonic plague when respiratory droplets" transfer the infection from one individual to another through close contact.

Medical studies also specify that plague occurs in three main clinical systems: bubonic, septicaemic, and pneumonic plagues. 

Relatively, being one of the three plague forms, the bubonic plague may cause symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, coughs, chills, and fever.

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