Posted on 09/09/2012 7:38:53 AM PDT by blam
A 7-Year-Old Girl Caught Bubonic Plague On A Camping Trip
Allison Jackson, GlobalPost
Sep. 8, 2012, 3:03 PM
A seven-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after contracting the bubonic plague during a family camping trip in southwest Colorado.
Sierra Jane Downing became sick a few days after the outing in Pagosa Springs.
Her parents Darcy and Sean thought she had the flu until she started having seizures, the Associated Press reported.
They rushed her to hospital where doctors eventually diagnosed the bubonic plague—the first confirmed case of the deadly disease in Colorado since 2006.
"I didn't know what was going on. I just reacted," Sean Downing was quoted by the AP as saying.
"I thought she died."
CBS Denver reported that Downing was moved out of the intensive care unit on Monday.
"I had never seen it," Jennifer Snow, one of the treating doctors, was quoted as saying.
"You learn about it in medical school during microbiology, but I had never seen a case of it before.
“If she would have stayed at home she could have easily died within 24 to 48 hours."
Doctors believe Downing contracted the Black Death from infected fleas near a dead squirrel, 9 News reported.
The bubonic plague wiped out nearly one-third of Europe during the 14th century, but is now easily treated with antibiotics.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Poor little girl! The article states she was moved out of intensive care so I am hoping that is a good sign. I can’t imagine what her parents are going through. If a doctor told me that one of my babies had the Bubonic Plague... I think I’d collapse right there and then.
At least it’s now treatable.
Yup...along with Hanta Virus, etc.
Thank goodness for that! I guess my response would be extreme after watching the History Channel... all the deaths and what a horrible way to die.
**There has always been plague in New Mexico. ***
It’s has been called Democrats.
Oh wait! Different plague!
CO needs to become more like South Dakota and Wyoming and shoot more prairie dogs.
Health Crisis PING
I read an interesting article several years ago that made a convincing argument that Yersinia pestis (bubonic plague) was not the organism responsible for “the black death” in Europe. I wish I could find it.
Syphilis is suspected to be one of the plagues that coincided with the Black Death.
When I lived in Colorado in the early 90’s they publicly encouraged killing prarie dogs because they carried the plague. Sounds like that program may have ended.
“ashes ashes we all fall down”
Their has always been plague in the 4 corners area, all 4 states see the plague on a cyclic basis. If that one doctor practices in Colorado long enough this won't be the last case of the plague she sees. Normally the Prairie Dogs are the ones who carry it, they seem to go dormant for years and then their will be an out break. Usually the Indians, mainly remote living Navahos, are the ones who come down with it.
Correction on post 15, “and then their” should actually read “and then there”.
She was lucky not to have caught Hanta virus. That is 30% fatal.
Hanta Virus has already killed two people that stayed in the tent cabins in Yosemite Nat’l Park this Summer. Many more may be infected.
Many years ago before Mexico turned into the cesspool it is now we used to go there twice a year. About a week before we would leave one of us would go to the doc and get doxicyclene. It will keep you from getting tourista too. Most docs will prescribe it for that if you ask.
Now it’s three who have died from Hanta virus in Yosemite. And there are people all over the world now ill with it from traveling this summer to Yosemite.
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