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Cause:
Bacterium Yersinia pestis
Illness and treatment:
Plague causes three clinical syndromes: bubonic
(fever, headache, nausea and unilateral lymph node
swelling); septicemic (bacteremia and multi-organ
system failure); and pneumonic (pneumonia). A patient
may have several syndromes. About
14% of plague cases in the United States are fatal.
Treatment is with antibiotics and supportive care.
Sources:
Wild rodent
populations are the natural reservoir where plague is
maintained by fleas.
Humans are infected through flea bites, handling tissues from infected
animals, or respiratory droplet spread from animals or
people with pneumonic plague.
Prevention:
Avoid contact with sick or dead wild animals, rodent-proof
houses, prevent pets from contracting fleas, and use
repellents on skin and clothing when outdoors.
Recent Washington trends:
Serologic
sampling of 6,781 wild carnivores collected between 1975 and
2008 in Washington showed 3.3% seropositivity but human
infections are rare: the last reported case was an animal
trapper in Yakima exposed while skinning a bobcat in 1984.
2008:
No human cases of plague
were reported.
Purpose of Reporting and
Surveillance
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To assist in the diagnosis and
treatment of cases
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To identify potentially exposed
close contacts, health care workers and laboratory personnel
and to provide counseling
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To identify sources of transmission
(e.g., wild rodents or other animals) and to prevent further
transmission from such sources
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To raise the index of suspicion of a
possible bioterrorism event if no natural exposure source is
identified
Legal Reporting Requirements
- Health care providers: immediately notifiable to Local
Health Jurisdiction
- Hospitals: immediately notifiable to Local Health
Jurisdiction
- Laboratories: immediately notifiable to Local Health
Jurisdiction; specimen submission required
- Veterinarians: immediately notifiable to Washington
State Department of Agriculture or to the local health
jurisdiction
-
Local health jurisdictions:
notifiable to Washington State Department of Health (DOH)
Communicable Disease Epidemiology Section (CDES) within 7
days of case investigation completion or summary information
required within 21 days. If bioterrorism is suspected, case must be immediately
reported to DOH: 1-877-539-4344
Last
update
November 2009
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