- The New Mexico Department of Health said Friday that a man in his 20s died of the septicemic plague.
- The death marks the first human death of the plague state since 2015.
- The department said the plague originated from wild animals, namely rodents, and is often spread through meat to humans.
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A man in New Mexico in his 20s died of septicemic plague in the state’s first death since 2015, the state’s health department announced Friday.
The department said the man was based in the state of Rio Arriba County and died after being hospitalized.
“An environmental investigation will take place at the person’s home to look for ongoing risk to immediate family members, neighbors and others in the surrounding community,” the department said in a statement on the death.
The man’s death marks the first plague-related death in New Mexico since 2015, according to the department. Last year, the state registered only one human plague case in a 72-year-old man.
The plague is caused by the yersinia pestis bacterium and is usually caused by animals such as rodents. Flies are a common switch for humans to pick up the infection, the department said.
The department says that common symptoms of the plague in humans include “sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, and weakness,” often with “painful swelling of lymph nodes in the abdomen, armpit or neck areas.” With immediate diagnosis and antibiotic treatment, “the death toll in humans and pets can be greatly reduced,” according to the department.
To prevent the plague, the department recommends that people protect themselves and their pets from contact with wild animals or meat.
Business Insider’s Kevin Loria previously reported that the bacteria that causes the plague can result in septicemic plague that only appears or turns into bubonic plague. Infections are persistent in the American West in part because of the high number of wild rodent populations.
According to data from the CDC, the US only sees an average of seven human plague cases reported each year.
Department of Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel warned state residents in a statement that “pest activity in New Mexico is usually highest during the summer months, so it is especially important now to take precautionary measures to prevent rodents and their flies, which can plague you. . ”
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