[HTML][HTML] New rural focus of plague, Algeria
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2010•ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
To the Editor: Plague is a deadly rodent-associated flea-borne zoonosis caused by the
bacterium Yersinia pestis (1). Human plague periodically reemerges in so-called plague
foci, as illustrated by the 2003 reemergence of human plague in the Oran area, Algeria (2,
3). We report emergence of a new plague focus in a remote region of Algeria. In July 2008,
three patients came to Laghouat University Hospital with signs of severe infection and
painful, inflamed, enlarged lymph nodes suggestive of buboes. One additional patient …
bacterium Yersinia pestis (1). Human plague periodically reemerges in so-called plague
foci, as illustrated by the 2003 reemergence of human plague in the Oran area, Algeria (2,
3). We report emergence of a new plague focus in a remote region of Algeria. In July 2008,
three patients came to Laghouat University Hospital with signs of severe infection and
painful, inflamed, enlarged lymph nodes suggestive of buboes. One additional patient …
To the Editor: Plague is a deadly rodent-associated flea-borne zoonosis caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (1). Human plague periodically reemerges in so-called plague foci, as illustrated by the 2003 reemergence of human plague in the Oran area, Algeria (2, 3). We report emergence of a new plague focus in a remote region of Algeria.
In July 2008, three patients came to Laghouat University Hospital with signs of severe infection and painful, inflamed, enlarged lymph nodes suggestive of buboes. One additional patient became ill with pneumonia and coma after a bubo appeared. The patients were nomads living in a 24-person camp in Thait El Maa in the Laghouat area, 550 km southwest of Algiers (Figure). Plague was confirmed by
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov