Bubonic Plague Case Discovered in 7-Year-Old Girl
'We Thought She Had a Flu,' Said Parents
Doctors were able to save the life of a 7-year-old girl with a mysterious illness after a trail of bug bites hinted at a medieval disease.
Sierra Jane Downing's parents had no idea what was wrong with their daughter when they rushed her to a local Colorado hospital, but they knew that she was terribly ill. Sierra was suffering from seizures and a temperature of 107.
"We thought she had a flu," Sierra's mother, Darcy Downing, told the local CBS station.
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On Aug. 25 Sierra was airlifted to the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver; her father feared for the worst.
"I thought she died," he told the station. "I was just running for the ER."
What would happen in following hours was a series of event that was worthy of a "Grey's Anatomy" episode.
At first sight, the medical staff was unsure about what was making Sierra so sick. It was her parents who first pointed out a trail of bug bites surrounding her torso. That is when Pediatric Intensivist Dr. Jennifer Snow had her "House" moment.
"That was my 'Aha' moment," she told CBS. "Could this be ursinia or bubonic plague?" Snow asked herself.
Sierra did in fact have the bubonic plague- an illness that hasn't been seen in Chicago for six years. The road to recovery was quick once the 7-year-old was diagnosed. On Monday, she was moved out of the ICU. By Wednesday, Sierra sat in a wheelchair, facing cameras and clutching a teddy bear.
"Really a greater infection has occurred and it's love," Darcy told cameras.
Sierra's parents hugged the medical staff who had managed to save their daughter's life.
The parents believe the culprit of the disease may have been a dead squirrel that Sierra had wanted to bury. Although she never touched the animal, she had left a sweater on the ground nearby and then wrapped it around her waist before she left. By the time that she had made it home, there appeared to be flea bites around her torso.
