Michigan Resident Contracts Plague in Colorado

Date Sent: 09/14/2015 04:47 PM EDT
Sender: Michigan Health Alert Network
Subject: Michigan Resident Contracts Plague in Colorado

Message:

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed a case of bubonic plague in a Michigan resident who recently returned from a trip to Colorado. The individual is a Marquette County resident who spent time outdoors in an area with reported plague activity. The patient has received appropriate treatment and is recovering. This is the first Michigan resident to ever be diagnosed with plague, caused by the organism, Yersinia pestis. Plague does not naturally occur in Michigan. The western U.S. is experiencing an increase in reported cases of plague in 2015, with 14 human cases reported to date. People are infected when they are bitten by infected fleas, or have direct contact with the tissues or body fluids from an infected animal that is sick with plague. Human-to-human transmission is rare and typically requires direct and close contact with a person with pneumonic plague. Illness typically begins 2-6 days after exposure. Health care providers should consider plague in any patient with compatible signs or symptoms, residence or travel in the western U.S., and recent proximity to rodent habitats or direct contact with rodents or ill domestic pets. Plague is a reportable condition in Michigan. Specific Y. pestis testing is available at the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories. Please see the attached document for details about signs and symptoms, diagnostic testing, and treatment of plague. For additional information, contact the MDHHS Bureau of Epidemiology at 517-335-8165 or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website at www.cdc.gov/plague/.

This message is being sent to the following statewide MIHAN roles:
Communicable Disease / Infection Prevention | Epidemiology | Health Officer| Laboratory |Physician / Medical Director

Attachments:

• Plague MI Traveler PR.pdf
• HCP_MI Traveler_Plague.pdf