Associated Press
SANTA FE — New Mexico's second human plague case of 2005 has been confirmed in a Santa Fe County man, says the state Department of Health.
The man, whose name and age were not released, has been hospitalized with bubonic plague and is recovering, Deborah Busemeyer, department spokeswoman, said Tuesday.
The department is conducting an investigation around his home to determine if there is a continued risk of plague there.
A teenage boy from Santa Fe County contracted bubonic plague earlier this summer, and the department said he has recovered.
The bacterial disease generally is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas, but also can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including pets.
The death rate can be greatly reduced in people and pets by prompt diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics.
New Mexico had no human cases of the plague last year.
One human case was reported in New Mexico in 2003 in Torrance County, while two cases were reported in 2002, both in Santa Fe County. The last plague fatality in New Mexico was a child from Rio Arriba County in 1994.
The state has been seeing plague cases in cats, dogs and rodents in many of New Mexico's north-central counties, department officials said.
Symptoms of bubonic plague in humans including fever; painful swollen lymph nodes in the groin, armpit or neck areas; chills; and sometimes headache, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms in animals are similar, and include lethargy and not eating.
Most people become ill two to seven days after becoming infected.
"Avoiding rodents and their fleas is very important, especially in the summer months when plague activity is usually higher,'' said Paul Ettestad, public health veterinarian at the department.
The agency recommends cleaning up areas around houses where rodents could live, dusting pets regularly with flea powder, keeping pets from roaming and teaching children not to play near rodent burrows or nests.
news 
E-mail Story
Print Friendly
