Plague Data
Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis. People usually get plague from the bite of a rodent flea that is carrying plague bacteria or by handling an infected animal. Although plague is a rare disease, about half of U.S. cases each year occur in New Mexico. Today, modern antibiotics are effective against plague, but if an infected person is not treated promptly, the disease can be life-threatening.
Plague Information for New Mexico Physicians and Health Care Workers
Manual for Investigation and Control of Communicable Diseases in New Mexico, 2008: Plague Chapter
Preguntas más frecuentes sobre la peste
Human Plague in NM by month, year and decade, 1949-2009
Human Plague in NM by County, 1949-2009
Human Plague Cases, 2009 (map and chart)
Feline plague in NM, 1977-2009
Confirmed Pet Plague Cases 2004 through 2009
Eisen RJ, Reynolds PJ, Ettestad P, et al. Residence-linked human plague in New Mexico: a habitat-suitability model. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007;77:121-125.
Eisen RJ, Enscore RE, Biggerstaff BJ, et al. Human plague in the Southwestern United States, 1957-2004: spatial models of elevated risk of human exposure to Yersinia pestis. J Med Entomol. 2007;44:530-537.
Gage KL, Dennis DT, Orloski KA, et al. Cases of cat-associated human plague in the Western US, 1977-1998. Clin Infect Dis. 2000;30:893-900.
Enscore RE, Biggerstaff BJ, Brown TL, et al. Modeling relationships between climate and the frequency of human plague cases in the Southwestern United States, 1960-1997. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002;66:186-196.
CDC PLAGUE INFORMATION WEBSITE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION PLAGUE MANUAL
The rock squirrel and its fleas are in important source of human plague in New Mexico.