New Mexico Confirms 3 Cases of Plague

Santa Fe County victims hospitalized
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 27, 2017 3:08 AM CDT
3 Plague Cases Found in New Mexico County
The CDC's map of plague cases in the US from 1970 to 2012.   (CDC)

The New Mexico Department of Health on Monday confirmed two more human cases of plague. The recent cases involve a 52-year-old woman and a 62-year-old woman. The first case this year was reported in early June in a 63-year-old man. All three patients, who live in Santa Fe County, were hospitalized but there have been no deaths. State public health veterinarian Paul Ettestad says plague can be present in fleas that infest wild rodents in Santa Fe County, including within the city limits of Santa Fe and in other locations around New Mexico. "Pets that are allowed to roam and hunt can bring infected fleas from dead rodents back into the home, putting you and your children at risk," he says.

Health workers are conducting environmental investigations around the homes of the three patients to look for ongoing risk and to ensure the safety of the immediate family members and neighbors, the AP reports. Plague generally is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas but can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals including rodents and pets. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hundreds of cases have been documented over the last century in the western US, typically in northern New Mexico, northwestern Arizona, and southern Colorado. In 2016, New Mexico had four human cases with no fatalities. Four cases were also reported in 2015 with one fatality. (More plague stories.)

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