Wednesday, Jul. 31, 2024
Are Arizona cases of bubonic plague transmitted by immigrants?
An average of seven cases of plague are reported in the United States each year, most frequently in northern Arizona and New Mexico. There is no evidence to suggest the disease is transmitted by undocumented immigrants. No cases of human to human transmission in the United States have been documented since 1924.
The plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is most commonly contracted from fleas. It can then spread through rodent bites or from handling another infected mammal.
The human cases are most often of the bubonic plague type, a disease widely known for a catastrophic outbreak in Europe during the Middle Ages.
The plague can be treated with antibiotics if caught in time, but can be dangerous or fatal if left untreated.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Arizona Department of Agriculture Plague
- Centers for Disease Control How Plague Spreads
- Centers for Disease Control Maps and Statistics
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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