This same story was reported a few days ago by some kid at CNN a few days ago and since then I’ve been trying to figure out how this is news. Yersinia Pestis infection is not particularly uncommon, peven in areas of the US, and it’s easily treatable with antibiotics. People still get plague, some still die from it because they don’t seek treatment, and the pneumonic form is much more related to their lack of being seen by a medical professional than some looming epidemic.
“..the pneumonic form is much more related to their lack of being seen by a medical professional than by some looming epidemic.”
But in the pneumonic form, it can spread quickly — and exponentially— from human to human, and can **cause** an epidemic.
One infected person sneezing in crowded quarters— say, in a transit terminal— can potentially infect many other travellers.
The general public and most doctors aren’t necessarily familiar with the disease. Its early symptoms can be mistaken for the flu.