Patient with the plague in Oregon

Question

Somebody in Central Oregon was treated with the plague?

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR35BUf7/

Comments

Yes, this claim is true, Deschutes County Health Services has verified a case of human plague. According to information provided on the official Deschutes County website, the individual   contracted the infection from their symptomatic pet cat. Fortunately, prompt identification has mitigated community risk. Notably, the previous instance of plague in the area was documented in 2015.


https://www.deschutescounty.gov/health/page/deschutes-county-confirms-case-human-plague-local-resident

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This claim is true. There has been one person who contracted the disease through a house cat, and this incident did happen in Oregon. According to the Deschutes County Health Service, they verified that it is not a widespread risk and was quickly contained, ensuring it poses no further concern to the general public. Additionally, an NPR article backs up this information, confirming its accuracy while emphasizing that it is not considered a significant threat.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/02/14/1231215446/so-you-think-you-know-all-about-the-plague

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Yes, this information is accurate. Deschutes Country confirmed that one resident was by their infected pet cat.  “All close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and provided medication to prevent illness,” said Dr. Richard Fawcett, Deschutes County Health Officer.

https://www.deschutes.org/health/page/deschutes-county-confirms-case-human-plague-local-resident

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Yes, this claim is true since there is evidence from the CDC that someone from central Oregon contracted the bubonic plague. They were infected by their house cat who has since then passed away but the human is being treated and is now on the mend.

https://www.deschutes.org/health/page/deschutes-county-confirms-case-human-plague-local-resident

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Your fact check was short and informative. You let us know the facts and the information that was needed. I appreciate you including the information about the last recorded case of the plaque as well.

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Good response. Your fact check was informative, and I feel I can believe and understand the initial claim better. The information you included was very helpful.

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I think your comment was very insightful because you did also include a detail where it's not something that everyone should be worried about like the Tik Tok where it could harm people into thinking they are at a huge amount of risk.

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I thought you did a good job with this claim! The only thing I would say is to add more background information about the source. Adding a quote is good, but I would explain the source a little more.

Answer 1

The claim presented is true. While undergoing my investigation about the subject, I found an article from Forbes titled, "Bubonic Plague Found in Oregon. An Infectious Disease Doctor Explains The Risk". The article basically illustrates that there was a recent resident in Deschutes County, Oregon who was infected by their pet cat. They have since then gone into the doctors for treatment. It also gives a further explanation of the plague and what to do. In another article by AP News titled "An Oregon resident was diagnosed with the plague. Here are a few things to know about the illness". In this article it says nearly the same information as the one in Forbes. The one in AP News  gives a little bit more detail as to where the plague originates and the importance of knowing what it is. All in all, after looking at the Tik Tok it seems to be a true claim while it doesn't give any evidence as to where they got their information it is still true. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markkortepeter/2024/02/20/bubonic-plague-found-in-oregon-an-infectious-disease-doctor-explains-the-risk/?sh=4f62d39b26d3 

https://apnews.com/us-news/plague-oregon-general-news-6d5a71b8a45e5e38ec321fd48fdb9576

Answer 2

This claim is true. According to several different reliable sources, an Oregon resident was confirmed to be diagnosed with the bubonic plague, likely contracted from "a sick pet cat" (AP News). The infected resident and their close contacts have been treated. People in the community are believed to not be at risk, and the cat was treated but did not survive. 

While this news has sparked some fear in the public and online, "Plague isn’t common, but it also isn’t unheard of in the western United States, where a handful of cases occur every year" (AP News). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, humans and pets suspected to be sick with the plague are typically treated with antibiotics.

Sources: 

https://apnews.com/us-news/plague-oregon-general-news-6d5a71b8a45e5e38ec321fd48fdb9576

https://www.cdc.gov/plague/index.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2024/02/16/bubonic-plague-oregon-confirmed-what-to-know/72627028007/