A resident of north Arizona,United States, recently died from pneumonic plague:
A resident of north Arizona,United States, recently died from pneumonic plague, marking the first death in the region in 18 years.
- Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of zoonotic bacteria called Yersinia pestis.
- This disease usually spreads through bites from fleas that previously bit an infected animal.
- Plague is infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages.
- Nowadays, it is a rare but persistent cause of illness in rural areas in the western United States and certain regions of Africa and Asia.
- There are three types of plague. Bubonic plague infects your lymph nodes, septicemic plague is in your blood and pneumonic plague affects your lungs.
- Pneumonic plague, which spreads to the lungs from other untreated forms of plague, is the most serious and is usually rare.
- Plague can be a very severe disease in people, with a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60% for the bubonic type, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left untreated.
- Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but these must be given promptly to prevent serious illness or death.
