AlQa'dah 13, 1436, August 28, 2015, SPA -- An elderly Utah man died from the plague earlier in the month, state health officials said two days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning about a higher-than-usual number of cases this year, according to UPI. The Utah Department of Health said the man was the first person to be diagnosed with the disease in the state since 2009. Plague, an infectious bacterial disease, is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other warm-blooded animals or humans. There are three types of plague: bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic. It is not transmitted human to human unless a patient with the disease also has a lung infection and is coughing. The CDC said since April 1, 11 humans -- now 12, including the Utah man -- have been diagnosed with the disease. That number is up from the average of about seven per year. Four were diagnosed in Colorado, two each in New Mexico and Arizona, and one each in California, Georgia, Oregon and Utah. "We don't want people to panic but we do want people to be aware of the heightened risk," said Dr. Natalie Kwit, with the division of vector borne diseases at the CDC. Utah officials said there's no indication the man traveled or picked up the disease outside the state.
