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Plague Kills Elderly Man in Utah

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A man in his 70s has reportedly died from the plague in the US state of Utah.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A man in his 70s has died from the plague in the US state of Utah, CBS reports amid the rise of plague cases in the United States.

The man most likely contracted the plague on campground, as the disease exists in prairie dog populations in Utah’s rural areas and could have been spread by a flea, CBS said on Thursday, citing the state Department of Health.

The identity of the man has not been released.

The news comes in the wake of a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on human plague cases, which was released on August 25.

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A total of 11 cases of human plague have been reported in six US states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico and Oregon) since April 1, 2015, according to the report. Nine of the patients were male. Three of the patients, including a 79-year-old, died.

The numbers presented in the report are higher than usual, according to CDC.

The mortality rate for untreated plague has ranged from 66 to 93 percent. With the creation of antibiotics, the rate has been reduced to about 16 percent, according to CDC.

There are different forms of the plague. The type that results from the bite of an infected flea is called bubonic plague and accounts for around 80-85 percent of all plague cases, CDC said in its Tuesday report.

The plague killed millions of people in Europe in the 14th century during the Black Death pandemic, significantly reducing the world population.

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