Deadly Disease in Arizona? What You Need to Know Now!

I remember learning about The Plague in history class. The stories were chilling!

I'm talking about the devastating illness that wiped out nearly half the population of Europe from 1347 to 1353.  In a mere 6 years, the Black Death killed between 25 and 50 million people.

Believe it or not, this bacterial illness is still around. Nowadays, thanks to antibiotics, the black death is far less deadly to humans. The United States typically only sees an average of seven cases every year.

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What to Know About the Bubonic Plague in Arizona

The Bubonic plague is caused by Yersinia pestis. The illness that nearly devastated Europe during the Middle Ages still lurks in Arizona’s wilderness. It's mostly found in mice, rats, and prairie dogs' fleas. For the most part, human cases are rare; only five cases have been reported since 2000.

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Bubonic plague can spread when people or pets come into contact with the bacteria left behind from infected rodents or their fleas.

According to a PNAS Study, infected fleas living on humans rather than rodents were largely responsible for the meteoric spread of bubonic plague during the height of the Black Death.

Symptoms and Treatment of Bubonic Plague

The Arizona Department of Health Services warns that plague can spread through flea bites, handling infected animals, or inhaling respiratory droplets. Symptoms typically appear within 2 to 6 days.

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Symptoms of bubonic plague infection are similar to those of other illnesses, and it causes fever, chills, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, bubonic plague can be treated with a course of antibiotics.

The best medicine is prevention. Avoid contact with wild rodents, use flea control on pets, and wear insect repellent when you go hiking. If you think you've been exposed to bubonic plague, call your doctor and seek medical care as soon as possible. Early treatment with antibiotics is highly effective.

Thankfully, the plague isn’t a significant threat anymore. Since the symptoms are similar to other illnesses, you might have a brush with the infamous Black Death and never even know it, and that's a miracle of modern science.

Sources: Wikipedia | Arizona Department of Health and Human Services (AZDHS) | Centers for Disease Control (CDC) | History.com | PNAS | Cleveland Clinic