Human plague cases found in Oregon.

* Human plague cases found in Oregon. Two cases of human plague, the first in Oregon since 1995 and the only U.S. cases in 2010, were reported by the Oregon Health Authority in September 2010, according to an article in the Feb. 25 issue of MMWR. The patients, ages 17 and 42, lived in the same household, had symptoms at the same time, and may have been exposed to plague by infected fleas from a dog. An isolate from one patient was incorrectly identified by three laboratories using three different commercial automated systems. A fourth laboratory identified Y pestis using direct fluorescent antibody to F1 antigen, polymerase chain reaction, and bacteriophage lysis. The organism was identified retrospectively in the other patient through passive hemagglutination-inhibition. Both patients recovered with antibiotic therapy.