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La Libertad, Peru: 6 confirmed cases of pneumonic plague, 1 fatal

alert

Senior Moderator
Published Date: 2013-12-11 09:43:10
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Plague - Peru: (LL) pneumonic, fatality
Archive Number: 20131211.2104941

PLAGUE - PERU: (LA LIBERTAD), PNEUMONIC, FATALITY
*************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Tue 10 Dec 2013
Source: Diario16 [in Spanish, mach. transl., edited]
http://diario16.pe/noticia/42298-la-libertad-reportan-primer-caso-mortal-victima-peste-neumonica


The Regional Health Management reported Tuesday, 10 Dec 2013, the 1st victim in 2013 of pneumonic plague in the La Libertad region. It is a 17-year-old, according to the regional manager of health, Jose Evangelista. The regional official did not name the victim, although it was known that he lived with his family in the village of Mocan, located in the district of Casa Grande, in the province of Ascope.

As reported by Evangelista, before entering Trujillo Regional Teaching Hospital, where the victim died, he spent several hours in the home of relatives in the village El Milagro in Huanchaco district center. In the area, said the regional manager of health, would have been about 150 families. Therefore, a health brigade came to the area to conduct a campaign to prevent the plague bacteria from spreading.

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[_Yersinia pestis_ is endemic in parts of Peru, especially the La Libertad region in the provinces of Trujillo and Ascope. In 2010, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported at least 27 cases in an outbreak and 4 deaths.

Most cases are due to bubonic plague following the bite of an infected rodent flea causing a swollen and very tender lymph gland. The swollen gland is called a "bubo." Bubonic plague should be suspected when a person develops a swollen gland, fever, chills, headache, and extreme exhaustion, and has a history of possible exposure to infected rodents, rabbits, or fleas. A person usually becomes ill with bubonic plague 2 to 6 days after being bitten.

When bubonic plague is left untreated, plague bacteria invade the bloodstream. As the plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream, they spread rapidly throughout the body and cause a severe and often fatal condition. Infection of the lungs with the plague bacterium causes the pneumonic form of plague, a severe respiratory illness. The infected person may experience high fever, chills, cough, and breathing difficulty and may expel bloody sputum. If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, the disease can progress rapidly to death. At this stage, as appears to have happened in this case, person-to-person spread can occur, causing other cases of "primary" plague pneumonia. - Mod.LL

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/9u0L.]



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This area has a history of plague outbreaks, such as this one from 2010:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145657
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150797
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149334&page=3
 
Re: La Libertad, Peru: One fatal case of pneumonic plague

Re: La Libertad, Peru: One fatal case of pneumonic plague

Uh-oh:

Published Date: 2013-12-16 15:09:37
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Plague - Peru (02): (LL) pneumonic
Archive Number: 20131216.2117699

PLAGUE - PERU (02): (LA LIBERTAD) PNEUMONIC
*******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Sun 15 Dec 2013
Source: La Republica [in Spanish, machine trans. edited]
http://www.larepublica.pe/15-12-2013/suben-a-seis-los-casos-de-peste-neumonica


There are now 6 confirmed cases of pneumonic plague in La Libertad, as reported yesterday, 14 Dec 2013, by the regional manager of Health, Jose Evangelista Vargas. "We are waiting for the laboratory tests of 6 other people that were evaluated for some symptoms of infection with the plague bacillus, _Yersinia pestis_. One of the new infected is a worker in a funeral home."

Of the confirmed cases, unfortunately one died: a 17 year old girl who lived in a sector of the town of Visnea Mocanera, in the district of Casa Grande, in the province of Ascope. The Health Authority explained that due to ignorance, the deceased with plague was taken from the morgue of the Regional Teaching Hospital in Trujillo (HRDT) and subsequently transferred to a funeral home, where a worker of the funeral home who manipulated the corpse was infected with the bacterium.

A 68 year old woman and her husband are thought to have pneumonic plague in addition to a doctor who became infected when providing medical care to some of those cases.

Of the 6 confirmed cases, 4 were in the province of Ascope, while a person contracted the plague in the Regional Hospital and the other is of an unclear source.

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communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[Clusters of pneumonic plague are now occurring in northern Peru as well as in Madagascar [Plague - Madagascar (03): pneumonic, more cases and fatalities 20131213.2114475]. Secondary spread of plague appears to have occurred in the community as well as nosocomially to a physician. Hopefully, by prompt isolation, identification, and treatment of new cases, the outbreak can be quickly contained. - Mod.LL

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1z-z.]
 
Re: La Libertad, Peru: 6 confirmed cases of pneumonic plague, 1 fatal

Published Date: 2013-12-20 14:46:30
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Plague - Peru (03): (LL) pneumonic
Archive Number: 20131220.2126421

PLAGUE - PERU (03): (LA LIBERTAD) PNEUMONIC
*******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Wed 18 Dec 2013
Source: La Razon [in Spanish, machine trans., edited]
http://larazon.pe/29177-alerta-ya-son-cinco-los-infectados-por-la-peste.html


According to official information, confirmed cases of pneumonic plague in La Libertad region rose to 5 and among those infected are a medical doctor and a child of 9 years. In addition, the Regional Health Directorate is evaluating another 3 suspected cases in the area of Elache in the district of Casa Grande.

An elderly couple from Campina Cariaga, Chocope district, Ascope province, were also diagnosed with this infection. The 60 year old woman remains in the Regional Hospital, while her 78 year old husband is in isolation at home and receiving outpatient care.

The regional health director, Jose Evangelista, reported that the 36 year old doctor was infected while intubating one patient. The child was bitten by a flea at his home in Campina Cariaga. The 5th case is a 17 year old who died of septicemic plague.

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[This posting does not mention the funeral home worker who was noted in the last report from Peru. The posting does imply, however, that further cases are being investigated. More information about the outbreak is needed. - Mod.LL
 
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