Volume 25, Number 12—December 2019
Dispatch
Animal Exposure and Human Plague, United States, 1970–2017
Stefanie B. Campbell, Christina A. Nelson, Alison F. Hinckley, and Kiersten J. Kugeler
Table 1
Characteristics of reported human plague case-patients, United States, 1970–2017*
| Characteristic | Total | Animal exposure before illness |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | ||
| Case-patients |
482 (100) |
258 (54) |
224 (46) |
| Sex | |||
| M | 278 (58) | 152 (59) | 126 (56) |
| F |
204 (42) |
106 (41) |
98 (44) |
| Median age, y (range) |
31 (<1–94) |
33 (2–85) |
24 (<1–94) |
| Race/ethnicity†‡ | |||
| White | 220 (46) | 135 (52) | 85 (38) |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 114 (24) | 52 (20) | 62 (28) |
| Not specified | 94 (20) | 45 (17) | 49 (22) |
| Hispanic | 51 (11) | 25 (10) | 26 (12) |
| Asian |
3 (<1) |
1 (<1) |
2 (1) |
| Primary clinical form† | |||
| Bubonic | 364 (76) | 200 (78) | 164 (73) |
| Septicemic | 91 (19) | 41 (16) | 50 (22) |
| Pneumonic | 15 (3) | 13 (5) | 2 (<1) |
| Pharyngeal | 3 (<1) | 2 (<1) | 1 (<1) |
| Gastrointestinal | 2 (<1) | 1 (<1) | 1 (<1) |
| Other and unknown |
7 (1) |
1 (<1) |
6 (3) |
| Died |
65 (14) |
40 (16) |
25 (11) |
| Known flea bite |
104 (22) |
49 (19) |
55 (25) |
| State of exposure | |||
| New Mexico | 253 (52) | 124 (48) | 129 (58) |
| Colorado | 66 (14) | 44 (17) | 22 (10) |
| Arizona | 62 (13) | 33 (13) | 29 (13) |
| Other and unknown | 101 (21) | 57 (22) | 44 (20) |
*Values are no. (%) unless otherwise indicated.
†Indicates statistically significant difference (α = 0.05) in proportion with characteristic between patients with animal exposure and those without animal exposure.
‡Several established race and ethnicity categories were absent among reported case-patient records and therefore not included.
Page created: November 18, 2019
Page updated: November 18, 2019
Page reviewed: November 18, 2019
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.