Bubonic plagueJohn Tull, whose 2002 bubonic plague illness raised bioterrorism fears, dies

In November 2002, John Tull, a New Mexico lawyer, was visiting New York when he was found to have bubonic plague. The discovery occurred a year after the fall 2001 anthrax attacks – which, at the time, were still unresolved – raising fears that Tull was a victim of bioterrorism.

Tull died last Wednesday a Santa Fe, New Mexico hospital. He was 65. He wife said he died of cancer, and that his doctors did not think the cancer was related to his case of the plague.

The New York Times reports that the 2002 plague episode was the first incidence of bubonic plague in New York City in more than 100 years.

The initial bioterrorism concerns were alleviated when it was determined that Tull’s case was linked to fleas in northern New Mexico, where Tull and his wife had a five-acre property outside Santa Fe. Yersinia pestis, the bacterium which causes plague, has been traced to fleas in the area.

On average, about seven cases of plague are reported in the United States every year, and New Mexico has accounted for more than half of them. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 1,000 to 2,000 cases, which are treatable with antibiotics, are reported annually.

Tull and his wife were in New York on business, and woke up with flulike symptoms after a dinner at the Plaza Hotel.

The hotel called a doctor for them and that doctor, who was familiar with rare diseases, recognized the symptoms of plague. While his wife responded to antibiotics and recovered within a few days, Tull’s condition continued to deteriorate, as the bacteria spread into his bloodstream.

His kidneys began to fail, and he was put into a medically induced coma. As his situation grew more desperate, Tull’s wife authorized doctors to amputate Tull’s legs below the knee in an effort to save his life. He spent 224 days in the hospital and was fitted with prosthetic legs.