"Black death"

USA: Cat infects owner with bubonic plague

Around seven cases of plague are reported in the USA every year. Those affected are usually infected by wild animals. In the current case, it was a cat that brought the pathogen home.

(Bild: AP)

A case of bubonic plague has been reported in the US state of Orgeon. The owner of a cat had contracted the "Black Death" from his pet.

In the Middle Ages, the plague caused millions of deaths in Europe, but it is now one of the world's almost forgotten diseases. This is partly because the infection is easily treatable, especially if detected early, and partly because today's living conditions are far more hygienic than in the past.

Cat infected its owner
However, infections with the bacterium Yersinia pestis do occur from time to time. This happened last week in the US state of Oregon in Deschutes County. 

A cat in the US state of Oregon infected its owner with the plague. The animal did not survive the disease.

(Bild: Landtiere)

The affected patient - it is unclear whether it was a man or a woman - was immediately isolated and treated accordingly. The affected person had contracted the disease from the owner's cat. The animal had most likely been infected while roaming outside. In addition to rats, prairie dogs are also hosts to the fleas that the bacterium infects. 

Patient is being treated, cat died
There is no reason to panic, according to the local health authority. No further cases of infection have been reported. The patient is still being treated and is on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, the cat did not survive the illness.

An average of seven cases of plague are reported in the USA every year - most of them in the rural West. In 2012, a man became infected when he tried to rescue a rodent from his cat's mouth. He survived, but lost several fingers and toes to the disease. Another case was documented in 2015 when a teenager in Colorado contracted the disease while hunting. Two cases were also reported in Colorado last year, one of which was fatal, according to the authorities.