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In the mid-14th century, a flea-born disease known as the Black Death ravaged Central Asia and Europe. Millions of people died after showing symptoms such as fever, aching joints, nausea, vomiting and the infamous buboes — swollen lymph nodes in the groin, armpits and/or neck that appear as giant, swollen, discolored blisters.

While, biologically speaking, yersinia pestis, or the bubonic plague, has shown up on the Navajo Nation, it no longer carries the imminent threat of widespread death.

On Sept. 29, a resident of Fort Defiance, Ariz. entered a nearby hospital demonstrating the symptoms of plague, including a 103 degree fever, chills, diarrhea and groin tenderness. After testing positive for the disease and being treated, the man appeared to be doing fine. 

“If treated, the plague is curable with antibiotics,” said Jenny Notah, a spokesperson for the Navajo Area Indian Health Services (NAIHS).

While the man who tested positive for the disease is doing fine, there are fears his case was not an isolated incident, as the plague is very contagious.

To prevent further spreading of the disease, NAIHS has been spreading a flea-killing powder along the areas the man regularly walked, and disseminating information to residents of the area on how to prevent the plague.

The NAIHS advises that residents of the area dust their pets — particularly cats and dogs — with flea-killing powder on a weekly basis; use flea collars; report prairie dog die-offs; take sick pets with swollen lymph nodes to the veterinarian; use insect repellant when around animals; and avoid playing with or touching wild animals, dead or alive. If a wild animal must be touched, NAIHS suggests using rubber gloves.

“It’s fortunately not very frequent, but it is endemic to the area and it occurs from time to time,” Notah said. “It’s infrequent but cyclical.”

The plague comes in three forms. The most common and most treatable is the bubonic plague. The more advanced forms are septicemic plague, which occurs when the disease enters the bloodstream, and pneumonic plague, which occurs when the disease reaches the lungs. 

Over the last decade, NAIHS has dealt with two cases of the plague.

The plague is much more common among other local mammal populations, most notably in prairie dogs.

“(The plague) has been associated with prairie dog colonies,” said Dr. Tim Fleming of Fronske Health Center. “A die-off of prairie dogs is always seen as an alert.”

Fleas from the prairie dog holes in Doney Park have repeatedly tested positive for the disease — most recently in September — and a cat from the Continental Country Club neighborhood tested positive for the plague on Oct. 8 but has been treated and is now doing fine.

The disease typically begins with rodents. In 14th century Europe, the plague began with rats; in the Southwest, it begins with prairie dogs — soon before the Fort Defiance resident was found to have the disease, the plague likely killed a large prairie dog population east of Flagstaff, an outbreak which might have been related. The disease then spreads to animals that prey upon these rodents or are in contact with their bodily fluids.

 Last fall, a wildlife biologist working in Grand Canyon National Park died of a misdiagnosed and mistreated case of the plague. The National Park Service said he likely received the disease from working with the corpse of an infected mountain lion.

Cases of the plague are generally reported between spring and fall. 

“The reason that plague season is usually thought to not be active during winter in the United States is because the rodents are hibernating,” said Rebecca Colman, a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in biology at NAU. “(The rodents) can still be infected with plague but are not active, so the risk for humans is down since the rodents are not out and about.”

Furthermore, Colman said summer activities, such as hiking, also put humans in closer contact with rodents that might carry and spread the disease.

“It’s certainly something that anyone who is going to be in the Southwest — either permanently or temporarily — ought to be aware of,” Fleming said. “We have a lot of people on campus who are at risk…and we try to make sure that they know — and that their professors know — they are at risk.”

For more information, contact the Division of Environmental Health Services at 871-5851.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.