Oregon Man Gets Plague From Mouse He Was “Saving From Cat”

BEND, Oregon. — Health officials confirmed a man who tried to save a mouse from the mouth of a stray cat has been diagnosed with the plague.BEND, Oregon. — Health officials confirmed a man who tried to save a mouse from the mouth of a stray cat has been diagnosed with the plague.

Oregon public health officials say the man was infected after he was bitten by either the stray his family had befriended and named Charlie or the unnamed mouse.

Officials put down the cat as a precaution(?) and the body of the feline was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing.

The unidentified man is in his 50s and remains in critical condition at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend.

His illness marks the fifth case of plague in Oregon since 1995.

More than a dozen people who were in contact with the sick man have been notified and are receiving preventive antibiotics.

Oregon public health officials say the man was infected after he was bitten by either the stray his family had befriended and named Charlie or the unnamed mouse.

Officials put down the cat as a precaution(?) and the body of the feline was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing.

The unidentified man is in his 50s and remains in critical condition at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend.

His illness marks the fifth case of plague in Oregon since 1995.

More than a dozen people who were in contact with the sick man have been notified and are receiving preventive antibiotics.