The world is still not done with the novel coronavirus pandemic where the advent of bubonic plague has added up to the turmoil. Caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, bubonic plague is spread via the bites of infected fleas from small mammals.
Though the plague has not captured much of the geographies and populace, the New Mexico Department of Health is reporting the state’s first human plague case of 2020. Officials said a Santa Fe County man in his 60s has been diagnosed with bubonic plague.
“This is a reminder that even during a pandemic, other infectious diseases are out that that can still put your health at risk,” NMDOH Secretary Kathy Kunkel said. “All New Mexicans need to be aware of the risks for contracting diseases like plague and take the necessary precautions to avoid them.”
According to the health department, the man is recovering at a local hospital while officials investigate any ongoing risks to immediate family members, neighbors, and others in the surrounding community.
Symptoms include the sudden onset of fever, chills, headache and weakness. Health officials said in most cases there is a painful swelling of the lymph node in the groin, armpit or neck area. Plague symptoms in dogs and cats are fever, lethargy and loss of appetite. A dog in Santa Fe County was also diagnosed with the plague this year.
In New Mexico, there was one human plague case in 2019 and none in 2018. But the sudden increment in the cases in 2020 has put the region in shock, which already is dealing with coronavirus like the entire world. Though with prompt diagnosis and antibiotic treatment, the fatality rate in people and pets can be greatly reduced.
It is worth mentioning, that similar to the novel coronavirus transmission, bubonic plague finds it origin in China. Moving back to the first week of July 2020, Health officials in China have confirmed a case of bubonic plague in a herdsman from the Inner Mongolia district, triggering increased prevention measures throughout the region.
