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Human plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is transmitted by exposure to rodents, particularly through bites of rodent fleas. It is endemic in the Western U.S. This life-threatening infection presents in three forms, bubonic (roughly 85% of cases), septicemic (10%), and pneumonic (3%). Person-to-person transmission is rare but can occur following exposure to patients with pneumonic plague. Over the last decade, a median of three cases have been reported each year in the U.S. (range, 1–17). Aggressive antibiotic treatment (aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, or doxycycline) reduces mortality considerably.
The CDC has received reports of 11 cases of human plague since April 2015. The exposures occurred mostly in residents of Western states (Arizo…