Yavapai County Probes 1 Suspected Pneumonic Plague Case, Starts Contact Tracing

Q: Pneumonic plague has resurfaced in Arizona. Has its mysterious source been found yet?

No. As of June 28, Arizona health officials have not identified the source of the suspected pneumonic plague case in Yavapai County. Yavapai County Community Health Services said the case is still under investigation, with final lab confirmation pending from the Arizona State Department of Health Services. Contact tracing is underway to find and notify anyone who had close exposure to the patient, and exposed contacts may be offered preventive antibiotics. What officials do know is that plague in Arizona is usually linked to natural animal reservoirs, especially wild rodents and the fleas they carry. Pneumonic plague can also spread through respiratory droplets from an infected person or animal, and it can develop when plague bacteria spread to the lungs from another form of the disease. But in this case, authorities have not yet said whether the patient’s infection came from wildlife, fleas, a pet, or another person. Health officials are treating this as an isolated case for now and have not reported evidence of a broader outbreak. They are urging residents to seek immediate care for sudden fever, chills, weakness, chest pain, shortness of breath, or coughing up bloody or watery mucus, because early antibiotic treatment is highly effective. Until investigators determine the source, the practical advice remains the same: avoid contact with wild rodents and sick animals, use flea control on pets, and report possible exposure when seeking medical care.

1 articles · Updated · Arizona's Family · Jun 27

Yavapai County health officials said Friday a county resident is suspected of having pneumonic plague, prompting an active investigation.
Contact tracing has begun to identify and notify anyone exposed because pneumonic plague infects the lungs and can spread person to person through respiratory droplets.
1 to 4 days after exposure, symptoms can escalate quickly; officials urged residents with sudden high fever, chest pain, breathing trouble or a cough with bloody or watery mucus to seek immediate care.
Standard antibiotics can treat the infection if caught early, while officials advised residents to treat pets for fleas and avoid wildlife and wild rodents as monitoring continues.