A plague is brewing in Colorado, and the culprit is an unlikely fellow: a dog.
The health officials of the state have uncovered a pneumonic plague that has now affected four people. While this can definitely be passed on from the animal to the human, almost always the source is a cat since the animal is more likely to show classic symptoms such as sneezing and coughing, avenues for the bacteria to travel.
Based on the investigation, an American pit bull terrier, aged 2, developed rigidity of the jaws and fever. Since the health declined very quickly, he was brought to emergency treatment in a vet clinic where he was later euthanized the day after.
Less than a week after the dog's death, though, the pet's owner experienced high fever. The person was also coughing up sputum, and like the dog, the health became serious within the day. After the initial test resulted nothing, the hospital redid the examination, which then revealed pneumonic plague. They subsequently tested the dog's body, which also confirmed the same bacteria.
Three more people became affected with the same disease, including two people working in the vet clinic where the dog was brought and another who came into close contact with the dog's owner.
All the patients eventually recovered after an extensive medication phase, although the dog's owner had to stay in the hospital for almost a month during the course of treatment.
A bacterium known as Yersinia pestis is considered as the main cause of the disease. Depending on which part of the body is infected or how it traveled from the animal to the humans, the bacteria can cause bubonic plague, which almost wiped out Europe during the Middle Ages.
The pneumonic plague is not extremely rare since it is common among prairie dogs, but usually the outbreak is so isolated.
