The next time California saw a case of plague was in August 2020. In a news statement dated August 17, 2020, El Dorado County officials stated that they had been informed of a positive test result involving a person healing at home while receiving medical treatment. The dog-walking South Lake Tahoe resident was suspected of contracting the plague after being bitten by a flea.
When two persons were bitten by plague-infected rats or fleas in Yosemite National Park in 2015, it was the last time the disease was documented in humans in California, according to a press statement from El Dorado County. They both did well after receiving therapy. All human instances since 2006 have been accounted for now.
The Plague is Extremely Rare in Comparison to COVID-19.
Thirty to fifty per cent of Europeans died from the bubonic plague that swept the continent in the fourteenth century. It's a lot rarer now than it was back in the '90s.
Over the past few decades, the CDC has reported an annual average of seven human plague cases in the United States, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. In any given year, there may be anywhere from one thousand to two thousand confirmed cases worldwide. However, the real figure is very certainly far higher.
The CDC COVID Data Tracker reports that over 81 million cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the United States over the first two years of the epidemic. Nearly a million people in the United States passed away during that time.
Is There a Difference In How COVID-19 and Plague Are Spread?
According to Dr. "humans are an accidental host," and the germs are generally transmitted by flea bites from rodent fleas like those seen on field mice and rabbit. "As an example, there have been reports of among those who hunt rabbits.
Cat scratches and bites are another potential routes of transmission." Charles, writing for Health, described plague as "spread from animal reservoirs among tiny rodents endemic in the Western US, but may also be observed in other parts of the world, notably Africa."
Can COVID-19 Symptoms Be Likened to Those of the Plague?
Plague symptoms, such as fever, headache, and sensitive enlarged lymph nodes around the place bitten by an infected flea, often show within a week after contact.
COVID-19 might cause fever and headaches in some persons. Shortness of breath, dry cough, loss of taste and/or smell, conjunctivitis, skin rashes, gastrointestinal difficulties, and diarrhoea are also possible COVID-19 symptoms.
However, research published in December 2021 in JAMA Network Open found that 40.5% of persons with confirmed COVID-19 infection had no symptoms.
How Effective Are the Different Treatment Options?
Antibiotics are effective against the plague if a proper diagnosis has been made. "It's relatively straightforward to cure nowadays. As soon as someone is suspected of having the plague, they should be admitted to the hospital.
Antibiotic treatment should begin as soon as possible once the diagnosis has been confirmed by lab testing, as recommended by the CDC. Also, prophylactic antibiotics can be taken to avoid infection for those in close contact with a person diagnosed with the plague.
Mild symptoms of COVID-19 can often be addressed with over-the-counter medications for pain relief and fever reduction. However, medical attention may be needed if symptoms are particularly severe.
Can You Tell Me About the Risks?
A plague is a bacterial infection that, if left untreated, can spread to other body regions and cause conditions as dangerous as meningitis and pneumonia. Septicemic and pneumonic plague consequences are the most severe.
Complications with COVID-19, including acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), pneumonia, blood clots, and septic shock, are more likely to occur in older persons and people with preexisting medical disorders.
Do We Need to Worry That COVID-19 Is Another Plague?
COVID-19 and the plague have certain symptoms, but other than that, they are entirely distinct illnesses. Several centuries ago, the Black Plague wiped out millions of people all around the globe.
A plague is highly unlikely to become a worldwide health hazard like COVID-19 in the 21st century due to the ease with which it may be avoided and treated. Scientists have a far better grasp on the pandemic because of its much longer history, whereas they are still learning about COVID-19.
