Two people just got the plague in China -- yes, the Black Death plague
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/13/health/china-plague-intl-hnk-scn-scli/index.html(CNN)Two people in China are being treated for plague, authorities said Tuesday. It's the second time the disease, the same one that caused the Black Death, one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, has been detected in the region -- in May, a Mongolian couple died from bubonic plague after eating the raw kidney of a marmot, a local folk health remedy.
The two recent patients, from the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, were diagnosed with pneumonic plague by doctors in the Chinese capital Beijing, according to state media Xinhua. They are now receiving treatment in Beijing's Chaoyang District, and authorities have implemented preventative control measures.
Plague, caused by bacteria and transmitted through flea bites and infected animals, can develop in three different forms. Bubonic plague causes swollen lymph nodes, while septicemic plague infects the blood and pneumonic plague infects the lungs.
Pneumonic -- the kind the Chinese patients have -- is more virulent and damaging. Left untreated, it is always fatal, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Average of 7 cases per year
https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps/index.html
The cases in the US are isolated and there hasn't been an epidemic since 1924. I hope the cases in China are isolated an not the beginning of an epidemic. Since it is pneumonic, I guess it could spread from person to person.
Plague is treatable with antibiotics. In the US the biggest risk is lack of early diagnosis. Most people don't know they have it. Although it is treatable, many times there has been permanent damage (gangrene) before it is diagnosed. In most cases, in the US a family pet (usually a dog) comes in contact with a dead animal (rodent) unbeknownst to humans. The pet brings the fleas home and the human has no idea that they have had contact with a dead animal.
none east of the Mississippi, as far as I know; here's a map:
The one case in Chicago looks like an anomaly, and the biggest concentration is in New Mexico.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_(disease)
(snip)
Bubonic and septicemic plague is generally spread by flea bites or handling an infected animal. The pneumonitic form is generally spread between people through the air via infectious droplets. Diagnosis is typically by finding the bacterium in fluid from a lymph node, blood or sputum.
Those at high risk may be vaccinated. Those exposed to a case of pneumonic plague may be treated with preventive medication. If infected, treatment is with antibiotics and supportive care. Typically antibiotics include a combination of gentamicin and a fluoroquinolone. The risk of death with treatment is about 10% while without it is about 70%. Globally about 600 cases are reported a year.
KY........
It spread like wildfire down our valley. It started with 2 bears in the Valles Caldera and ended with many dead pets.
It is endemic in the 4 corners region in the summer. 
