A person in Colorado has been infected with the plague, CNN reported. Although the rare disease that wiped out millions of people in Europe in the Middle Ages has been largely eradicated in humans, rare cases still occur in humans, as this recent case showed.
What is going on?
The plague, also known as the “Black Death,” is transmitted by flea bites and spreads among wild rodents. Worldwide, 3,248 human cases of plague were reported between 2010 and 2015, according to the World Health Organization. Most of those were in Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
As the name “Black Death” suggests, the plague is an extremely serious disease. Although there are currently no commercially available vaccines for the plague, the disease can be treated if caught early enough.
“Plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics, but an infected person must be treated promptly to prevent serious complications or death,” Alicia Solis, program manager for 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 spread by insect bites—have been on the rise lately as the range of insects increases due to the overheating of our planet. According to a scientific study, this trend includes the plague.
“A large increase in flea numbers in a prairie dog colony, combined with an increased number of infested burrows, could have substantial implications for pest dynamics in the western United States as the climate warms,” the study predicted.
Other vector-borne diseases that have seen a spike in recent times include dengue fever, which is spread by mosquitoes, West Nile virus (also spread by mosquitoes), Lyme disease (spread by ticks), and many more.
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What is being done about the plague?
Officials advised people to remove areas around their homes where wild rodents could seek shelter, such as brush, piles of rocks, trash and wood piles around homes, garages, sheds and recreation areas. They also advised treating your dogs and cats for fleas, storing pet food in rodent-proof containers and not allowing pets to sleep in your bed.
Scientists are also working on more sophisticated ways to map the populations of the insects that spread these diseases so they can be better prepared to combat them. One example is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to map malaria mosquitoes in Africa.
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