7-year-old Colorado girl contracts "black death" bubonic plague

Sierra Jane Downing, from Pagosa Springs, Colo., watches while her mother Darcy Downing talks about her recovery from Bubonic Plague at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke's during a news conference Sept. 5, 2012, in Denver.

/ AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

(CBS/AP) DENVER - A 7-year-old girl is recovering in a Colorado hospital after being diagnosed with the Black Death, scientifically known as the bubonic plague.

The parents of 7-year-old Sierra Jane Downing thought she had the flu when she felt sick days after camping in southwest Colorado.

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When she had a seizure, her father rushed her to the local hospital in Pagosa Springs. The emergency room doctor who saw Sierra Jane for the seizure and a 107-degree fever late Aug. 24 wasn't sure what was wrong either, and called other hospitals before the girl was flown to Denver.

A pediatric doctor racing to save the girl's life at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children got the first inkling that she had bubonic plague. Dr. Jennifer Snow first suspected the rare disease after factoring in the girl's symptoms, a history of where she'd been and an online journal's article on a teen with similar symptoms.

"If she had stayed home, she could've easily died within 24 to 48 hours from the shock of infection," Snow said.

It was the first bubonic plague case Snow and her colleagues had seen.

The bubonic plague hasn't been confirmed in a human in Colorado since 2006, when four cases were reported, according to state health officials. But, this past June, a man in Oregon contracted the disease after a cat bit him while he was trying to take a rat out of its mouth. Federal health officials say that on average, seven cases are reported in the U.S. each year.

Sierra Jane's heart rate was high, her blood pressure was low, and she suffered a swollen lymph node in her left groin so painful it hurt to undergo the ultrasound that helped detect it, Snow said. However, the girl is recovering and could go home within a week, doctors said Wednesday.

"She's just a fighter," said her mother, Darcy Downing.

 Downing said her daughter may have been infected by insects near a dead squirrel she wanted to bury.

Plague is generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas but also can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, rabbits and pets. It can be treated with antibiotics.

Symptoms of the bubonic form of the plague in humans include fever, chills, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes in the groin, armpit or neck areas. Pneumonic plague, which is an infection of the lungs, can include severe cough, difficulty breathing and bloody sputum.

The bubonic plague wiped out at least one-third of Europe in the 14th century. Today, it can be easily treated with antibiotics. A Johnson & Johnson antibiotic was approved by the FDA in April 2012 to combat the disease. In laboratory tests, 94 percent of the monkeys given the treatment were cured of the disease and survived.

10 Photos

Ore. man survives "black death" plague (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

[shenboe]

Mentioning TB is appropriate in relation to this story since, like bubonic plague, it is a disease that was thought to be wiped out in this country and which is now occurring more frequently.

[ITsAboutFREEDOMStupid]

This is a result of illegal immigration. When you allow people to enter our country illegally you have no way of knowing what diseases they have brought with them. Look at the tuberculosis epidemic that is going on now. There are TB clinics popping up everywhere, a TB ward in every hospital and TB outbreaks in our schools. We had virtually wiped out TB in the USA and now we are allowing people to bring it back; One strain that originated in Mexico is antibiotic resistant.

[mecury69]

Yep, we need to build a wall to keep out all those Mexican rodents! Did you not READ the story? It's not airborne or transmitted through humans. Your association to TB is non-existent. As they say, a little knowledge is a scary thing.