Bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan

First fatality for decades due to the bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan

08/26/2013

In Kyrgyzstan, a 15-year-old boy died of bubonic plague. Although the national health authorities are trying to calm the population, the population has become increasingly fearful of a bubonic epidemic since the death.

The 15-year-old victim of bubonic plague, according to the news agency „AFP“ citing the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health „a shepherd from the small mountain village of Ischke-Scherges in the east of the Central Asian country, not far from the border with Kazakhstan.“ The boy had died in the hospital of the Karakol region as a result of the bubonic plague. His body was cremated according to the media and buried under special security arrangements. In addition, for safety reasons, 105 people in contact with the boy had been quarantined at the hospital.

Fleas as transmitters of plague - rats as a reservoir of pathogens
The head of the hygiene department in the Ministry of Health Tolo Isakov said about the source of infection: „We suspect that the patient was infected by a flea bite.“ The infection with rat flea bites is typical for infections with the plague bacterium. The fleas serve as a so-called intermediate host. They take the pathogens with the blood of infected rats or other rodents and pass them on to a human. To minimize the risk of further infections, therefore, two expert teams were sent to the region where the 15-year-old died. They should be the „Catch and examine rodents“, explained Isakov. Most recently, according to the expert, a bubonic plague disease was registered in Kyrgyzstan some 30 years ago. However, after the fatality of the 15-year-old, the threat of an epidemic is by no means assumed, emphasized the Kyrgyz Minister of Health Dinara Saginbayeva.

Bubonic plague usually leads to death if left untreated
The bubonic plague is one of the four manifestations of infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. After an incubation period of a few hours to about a week, initially appear flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches. Those affected feel extremely weak and increasingly suffer from impaired consciousness. In the further course, clearly visible, painful bumps on the affected person's body are formed - usually in the armpit, groin or neck area. The swelling is due to the infection of the lymph nodes and lymphatics. In late-stage bubonic plague it can also cause other manifestations of the plague, such as plague sepsis or pneumonic plague. Without timely, adequate medical care, those affected are threatened with a relatively high probability of a fatal disease course. (Fp)

Picture credits: Jürgen Maul