Health officials note an uptick in cases of
bubonic plague in the United States this year, with at least 12 reported human cases reported since April 1. The CDC notes that healthcare providers should consider
plague in patients who have traveled to
plague-endemic areas and exhibit
fever,
headache,
chills, weakness, and one or more swollen or tender and painful lymph nodes, referred to as buboes. Officials note that the disease rarely passes from person to person, but that this is a concern with patients who have developed the pneumonic form of the disease. Health officials note that in recent years there has been an average of seven cases of human
plague each year in the United States, and that most of these cases are the bubonic form of the illness. Four patients confirmed to have
plague this year have died, including the most recent case, a Utah man in his 70s. Most cases of
plague in the United States occur in two regions. The first includes northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Colorado, and the second includes California, southern Oregon, and far western Nevada. When
plague is suspected, treatment with
antibiotics should begin immediately.