Plague detected in patient who died in Arizona
COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A patient who died at a Flagstaff, Arizona hospital last week was diagnosed with the bacteria that causes the plague, marking the first known plague-related death in Coconino County since 2007.
"You might see pneumonic plague zero times, or at the most, one time in your career, even if you work up in Coconino County," said Will Humble with the Arizona Public Health Association.
A once in a lifetime diagnosis for one Arizona resident, health officials say the person died at the Flagstaff Medical Center Thursday, the same day they sought care.
"If I were to speculate that this individual had some sort of exposure to an infected animal that already had it in its lungs and then it was transmitted from an infected animal," said Dave Wagner who studies these kinds of infections at Northern Arizona University.
Wagner says the plague is often linked to rodents like prairie dogs, whose colonies can have case after case of the plague.
They may then pass it on to a house pet or wild animal. That animal is then usually the link to an infection in humans.
"You can see the train of transmission being from the prairie dog to the flea to the dog or cat into the house. The flea bites the human. The human gets bubonic plague," Humble shared.
That kind of plague, bubonic, is noticeable on the skin, causing significant swelling, often black in color.
"This hits the ground running, and it's really, really quick, really, really severe. It's extremely hard to diagnose," said Frank LoVecchio, Medical Director at Arizona State University.
Though prairie dogs have been dying in recent months in the Flagstaff area, health officials do not believe this human case is related.
LoVecchio says pneumonic plague can often be harder to treat, and it even may mask itself as a regular pneumonia case when someone enters a hospital seeking care.
"The unfortunate thing is, though, if it does make it to your lungs, it's pretty hard to treat. when you have pneumonic plague, you know the chances of you dying from it are relatively high, unfortunately," LoVecchio expressed.
The plague death in Flagstaff is likely not a major cause for concern that sentiment echoed by all three experts.
"I always tell people worry more about putting on your seatbelt than you should worry about plague," Wagner remarked.
Coconino County officials said the risk of transmitting the plague between humans is very low and the last known human-to-human transmission occurred in 1924.
