Horror as 16-year-old is diagnosed with bubonic plague- but do you know the symptoms?

A community has been left shocked after a 16-year-old girl contracted the bubonic plague whilst hunting near her home.

The unnamed teenage girl was outside near her home in Morrow County, Oregon, when she was bitten by an infected flea.

She was taken to hospital last week where she is now recovering in an intensive care unit.

Specialists from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are now investigating how the teenager came to come in contact with an infected flea.

Oregon public health veterinarian Emilio DeBess told USA Today: “Many people think of the plague as a disease of the past, but it’s still very much present in our environment, particularly among wildlife. Fortunately, plague remains a rare disease, but people need to take appropriate precautions with wildlife and their pets to keep it that way.”

There have been eight cases of the bubonic plague in the last decade.

Early symptoms include:

-lethargy

Health experts have warned that the disease could hit the UK.

Professor Tilli Tansey from Queen Mary University in London told the Daily Stay earlier this year: "The usual suspects, such as increased availability and use of air travel, mean that someone infected overseas could import the disease. Also, infected rats could infiltrate containers and then infect native black rats."

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