Oregon health officials said that the state's first case of human plague in more than eight years likely originated in a person's pet cat.
The cat had developed symptoms before the animal likely infected its owner with bubonic plague, Deschutes County Health Services said last week, according to NBC News.
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Dr. Richard Fawcett, a Deschutes County health official, said the cat suspected to be responsible for the recent case was "very sick" and had a draining abscess that indicated a "fairly substantial" infection.
The owner's infection began in a lymph node and progressed to the bloodstream by the time the owner went to the hospital. The owner "responded very well to antibiotic treatment," Fawcett said.
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