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Plague

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 US cases each year occur in New Mexico. Antibiotics are effective against plague, but if an infected person is not treated promptly the disease can be life-threatening.


Prevention Pamphlet

This Plague Prevention Pamphlet provides information about plague. It explains the three main forms of plague, how it is spread, that it is curable if treated in time, and how to prevent it.


Frequently Asked Questions

This document answers common questions including what plague is, what symptoms are, how it spreads, how long people are contagious, what treatments are available, and more.


Fact Sheet

This Plague Fact Sheet explains what the plague is, how people get it, common forms of plague, how to protect yourself, and more.


Physicians & Healthcare Workers

This CD Manual - Plague document provides information about plague for New Mexico physicians and healthcare workers including agent, mode of transmission, period of communicability, incubation period, common symptoms, forms of plague, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, and reporting.


Activity in New Mexico

Human

There has been one Human Plague Case in New Mexico in 2024.

There were no human plague cases in New Mexico in 2023.

See the following news releases for more information:

Animal

There have been no animal plague cases in New Mexico in 2024.

There were no animal plague cases in New Mexico in 2023.

See the following news releases for more information:


New Mexico Case Data

Case data from previous years are archived below for historical reference.

Human

Animal


Selected Literature