A 58-year-old man in New Mexico was recently treated for bubonic plague, the first case of the disease formerly known as "Black Death" to surface in 2011.
Health officials in Santa Fe said the unidentified man spent a week in the hospital after suffering high fever, intense pain in his stomach and groin and swollen lymph nodes.
He was treated and released, but officials would not say when.
The results of blood tests released Thursday confirmed the man had bubonic plague, officials said.
Doctors said the man was most likely bitten by a flea carrying the plague bacteria, the most common method of transmission to humans.
Rat-borne fleas can carry the bacterium, and humans can also catch the disease from contact with infected rodents or animals.
"He was probably bitten by a flea somewhere on his left leg," Department of Health veterinarian Paul Ettestad told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/08/2011-05-08_man_in_new_mexico_diagnosed_with_bubonic_plague_first_case_of_black_death_in_201.html#ixzz1LpT6hRtA
Health officials in Santa Fe said the unidentified man spent a week in the hospital after suffering high fever, intense pain in his stomach and groin and swollen lymph nodes.
He was treated and released, but officials would not say when.
The results of blood tests released Thursday confirmed the man had bubonic plague, officials said.
Doctors said the man was most likely bitten by a flea carrying the plague bacteria, the most common method of transmission to humans.
Rat-borne fleas can carry the bacterium, and humans can also catch the disease from contact with infected rodents or animals.
"He was probably bitten by a flea somewhere on his left leg," Department of Health veterinarian Paul Ettestad told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/08/2011-05-08_man_in_new_mexico_diagnosed_with_bubonic_plague_first_case_of_black_death_in_201.html#ixzz1LpT6hRtA
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