Santa Fe County, N.M., teen was recovering from bubonic plague, the first human case reported in New Mexico since 2003, state health officials said.
Health officials Monday said the boy likely contracted the disease from plague-infected fleas.
During the weekend, authorities found four dead rodents in the boy's home and abandoned burrows around the house infested with fleas.
Animal cases of bubonic plague have been reported in the New Mexico counties of Bernalillo, Colfax, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos this year, the Albuquerque (N.M) Journal reported.
The most recent human case was reported in 2003.
The disease is treatable with antibiotics if caught in the early stages.
Link... http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_25999.html
And here I was thinking such diseases didn't exist anymore.
Health officials Monday said the boy likely contracted the disease from plague-infected fleas.
During the weekend, authorities found four dead rodents in the boy's home and abandoned burrows around the house infested with fleas.
Animal cases of bubonic plague have been reported in the New Mexico counties of Bernalillo, Colfax, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos this year, the Albuquerque (N.M) Journal reported.
The most recent human case was reported in 2003.
The disease is treatable with antibiotics if caught in the early stages.
Link... http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_25999.html
And here I was thinking such diseases didn't exist anymore.
