After 1,288 measles cases, plague detected in US. What you must know to stay safe during health crisis

At least one person has died in Arizona as a result of Plague, reports Fox 10. The person died on the same day they showed up at the Flagstaff Medical Center with symptoms.

The person tested positive for Yersinia pestis, which is the bacteria that causes the Plague. Also, earlier this week, Coconino County Health department officials reported that prairie dogs are dying in northern Arizona and officials are concerned the cause could be the plague. Coconino County Health and Human Services recently received a report of a prairie dog die-off on private land northeast of Flagstaff.

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What is Plague?

According to the World Health Organization, plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacteria usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Plague is transmitted between animals and humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact with infected tissues, and inhalation of infected respiratory droplets.
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, the WHO says.

Antibiotic treatment is effective against plague bacteria, so early diagnosis and early treatment can save lives. Currently, the three most endemic countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Peru.

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According to the Cleveland Clinic, the Plague usually spreads through bites from fleas that previously bit an infected animal. The website notes there are three types of plagues: Bubonic, Septicemic, and Pneumonic. They are each named for the part of the body that gets a Yersinia pestis infection.

"While it still exists, plague is extremely rare now. Worldwide, 1,000 to 2,000 people are diagnosed with plague every year. Only about seven cases are reported in the U.S. each year," read a portion of Cleveland Clinic's website.

What are the symptoms of plague?

Some of the common symptoms of plague are: fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue and dizziness. A number of animals carry and spread the plague, including: rodents, including rats, mice, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, gerbils, and guinea pigs, other small mammals, pet dogs and pet cats, deer and camels.

"You need to get treated immediately if you have plague. While antibiotics work well, you have the best chance of getting better if you start taking them within 24 hours of noticing symptoms," read a portion of Cleveland Clinic's website.

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This is not the first time a Plague case has been identified in Northern Arizona. In 1996, there were five identified cases in the Four Corners region of Arizona and Colorado, and an 18-year-old from Flagstaff died during that outbreak. In 2007, there was one confirmed case, and in 2014 and 2015, flea in Flagstaff tested positive for it.

Measles make a comeback in US

This comes at a time when the United States has reported 1,288 measles cases this year — the highest number in 33 years, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The last time the US saw more measles cases was in 1992, eight years before the disease was declared eliminated in the country.

"We're seeing a lot more measles transmission than we are used to," says Caitlin Rivers. She's the director of the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, which has its own measles dashboard. "Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known to humans. And more importantly, it's preventable. And so we really hate to see this resurgence of a preventable virus," Rivers says.