Outbreak of Human Pneumonic Plague with Dog-to-Human and Possible Human-to-Human Transmission - Colorado, June-July 2014

On Jul 8, 2014, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) laboratory identified Yersinia penis, the bacterium that causes plague, in a blood specimen collected from a man (patient A) hospitalized with pneumonia. The organism had been previously misidentified as Pseudomonas luteota by an automated system in the hospital laboratory. An investigation led by Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) revealed that patient A's dog had died recently with hemoptysis. Three other persons who had contact with the dog, one of whom also had contact with patient A, were ill with fever and respiratony symptoms, including two with radiographic evidence of pneumonia. Here, Runfola et al discuss the results of the investigation regarding the outbreak.