If the plague decimated 40% of the French population in the Middle Ages, it is elsewhere that this disease is rampant today. The New Mexico Department of Health in the United States has announced that three cases of plague have been identified in the state, reports the New York Times. Two women, ages 52 and 62, were treated this week at a hospital in Santa Fe. Earlier this year, a 63-year-old man had already been infected with the plague. The three infected people were able to return home after a few days of hospitalization.
20,000 cases identified since 2000
This disease, caused by bacteria Yersinia pestis and which is transmitted mainly by fleas proliferating on rats, manifests itself in humans by fever, pain and intense fatigue. Antibiotics can cure it if the disease is treated early.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the plague has mainly affected the Congo and Madagascar. Between 2000 and 2009, more than 20,000 cases were recorded worldwide and more than 1,600 people died, according to theAmerican Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
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