A human has been confirmed to be infected with plague, aka the Black Death, in Pueblo County, Colorado. The infectious disease, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, killed millions of people across Europe during the Middle Ages. While it spreads among wild rodents and other animals in the western United States and parts of Africa and Asia, it's quite rare these days for a human to catch it.
"Humans usually become infected through the bite of an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal," explains the US Center for Disease Control. "Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but these must be given promptly to prevent serious illness or death."
According to CNN, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment advised that preliminary tests last week on the symptomatic individual suggested plague but it has since been confirmed.
"A plague vaccine is no longer available in the United States," the CDC says. "New plague vaccines are in development but are not expected to be commercially available in the immediate future."
Previously:
• Annalee Newitz looks at the Great Plague of London and 17th century social distancing
• California reports first bubonic plague case in 5 years
